Mutants, Heirs of the Gods
by Personification of Fluff
Summary: Gambit is the second in command aboard a mutant pirate ship! After discovering a beautiful stowaway, they team up with their enemies to try and find ancient stones said to hold the power of the Gods! RoguexGambit, AU Finished
1. Chapter One

Author's Notes: Greetings! My Rogue and Gambit relationship obsessed friend challenged me, as I am the Personification of Fluff, to try and write a Rogue and Gambit fic, which, I've never actually written before. This is the result. While it's not sappy and romantic just yet, this IS only chapter one! ^_^ 

Keep an eye peeled for other relationships, too! Because I can never keep a story just that simple. . . .

  
  


Rating: No more than pg-13.

Scenario: It's an AU fic! Anything goes! I know, X-Men itself is rather AU, but then, I like fantasy stories. The X-Men are... da da da.... pirates! I don't have a plot beyond that, so read on and I'll hopefully get one by the next chapter! ^_^

  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. That is, I own X-Men comics and the movie, but that's about it. I don't own THE comics. Given the opportunity, however, I will gladly own Kurt or Piotr. No, I'm not making money off of this, I'm doing it because the PoF happens to have a pride streak the size of Toronto to somebody who considers a town of ten thousand crowded. I have heard a call, and I will answer it!

  
  
  
  


Chapter One

"Get back here!" The cry faded slowly into the background of the city, drowned out by the occasional sounds of gunshot or scream. The city was a dangerous place, but it was all the more deadly after the sun had sunk below the horizon. Giddy and serious all at the same time, the second in command of a famous pirate ship, famous himself, Remy LeBeau, the master of all things pirates loved, grinned. 

The boat rocked steadily from side to side, the sight of its movement hidden in the dead of night. Though the city streets were unnerving to most, the handful of people running from roof top to roof top found it an asset in their business. What was their business? The only job that was worth doing, as far as they were concerned: thieving! 

"A bottle of rum to fill my tum, and that's the life for me!" he sang as he pushed himself over another rooftop using his metal staff. It was like flying! The Cajun man laughed, the hearty laugh befitting of a pirate. As if possessing super human powers -which he did- he vaulted from the top of the harbour master's house, straight into the crow's nest of the ship he called home. Holding the bag of bounty for his men -and woman- to see, he cried, "Gambit gonna party tonight, mes ami!"

Below him, his fellow pirates cheered and applauded. He swung down single handedly on one of the lines, and began to bark out orders in all directions. "Kurt, 'drow off de ropes! We be setting sail! Kitten, 'drow dese jewels in the vault wit' de others. Wolverine, take de wheel. I'm going da see de boss. And grab us some nice wine."

Kurt Wagner teleported off the ship and let loose the ropes that bound the ship to the unsuspecting port. He bamfed from pole to pole, and then unto the ship when all was done. Lacing his three fingered hands behind his head, he whistled happily, black eyepatch making his one eyed yellow glow all the more eerie. "Ve did well then, Gambit? That house vas more than a little difficult."

"Mon ami, de rewards were well worth the effort," the second him command smiled down at him. He stood taller than all of his men. "De only 'ting that could have made this port better were some more of de women-folk, and mebbe anoder hand to help us out."

"What?" Katherine Pryde demanded, phasing through the floor, the bag of jewels empty in her hand. She smiled, tossing her braid over her wiry shoulder, her chin held high. "Aren't Mystique and I women enough for you?"

Gambit and Kurt snickered. "Mystique's more than enough woman for anybody, Katzchen."

Leaving Kurt to explain to the fifteen year old girl the joy of having a woman who could explain to anybody she wanted to, Gambit headed to the Captain's office. As usual, he sauntered in without knocking, staff tied to his back and arms crossed over his muscular chest, he deposited himself in an unused chair, sitting as casually as a man who could own half the world and not care an ounce for any of it. He rubbed his badly shaven beard. "You were right, mon capetaine. Dere were plenty o' gold, and plenty o' gems da boot. But, Gambit was wondering if you couldn't have picked a site wid' a razor. Gambit finds shaving on a boat hard, non?"

The Captain of the famous pirate ship, the Raven, took a sip of the French wine Gambit had been so eager to get his hands on. "Come now Gambit. That looks good on you. It makes you look like a lady killer. Of course, even without your... pirate like... appearance, you'd still appear like you know how to show a girl a good time. What's the matter, Cajun? Didn't you get enough bounty? Or was it booty you didn't get enough of? If you wanted, we could leave you at the next stop. I'm sure you could find a woman to take you in, although I have no pity for her or you when you crush her heart and leave her house without so much as a penny."

Mystique, Captain of the pirate ship named after one of her old personalities, smiled, her pointed teeth a perfect shade of white against her blue skin. In the dead of night, with only a single candle lit, she was nearly invisible. Gambit always found it hard to believe that the seductive woman who wore as little as possible was older than he. She always found it to believe she had hired such a womanizing, headstrong, and greedy man to be her second in command. 

He snorted, lighting up a cigarette. He stuck the lighter and the box in one of his leather coat pockets. "What? And leave all mes amis without me t' protect them from your cruel ways? Non. Not in my lifetime, Mystique. Dey are my men before dey are yours. 'Tis ship might be named after you, you megalomaniac, but 'dese be Gambit's men. And jeunnesse."

She purred, reaching out a slender arm to light her own cigarette. Mystique breathed in, her chest rising suggestively. "Are you talking mutiny, Gambit?" Mystique paused, her pink tongue licking lightly at her supple lips. "Is it just me, or as your English been improving?"

"I've been taking lessons," he said with a smirk. "You wanted people wit' special powers, Mystique. You got 'em. 'Course, de big boss never cared t'see what oter powers dese persons have." His smile grew, his broad lips almost reaching black and red eyes that hinted of unused abilities. "Don't 'tink dis means Gambit's going ta become a scholar. De ladies love da speech too much. Gambit was just in need a new word t'insult you wit'."

"Megalomaniac, am I? Well, I never denied being full of pride or having an ego to rival yours, but I certainly don't admit it, either."

"Nobody has an ego like Gambit's."

"Here," she handed him the key to her liquor cabinet. Mystique leaned back in her chair, her face what looked like prideful, but it was too dark to tell. "Take your pick. Wolverine alone brought in enough to repay the cost of anything you and your pirates might drink. And you know how conspicuous he is."

Gambit selected a bottle of scotch for Wolverine, and two bottle of wine: one for him, and one for Kurt. "It's sad that Kurt won't drink anyting oter dan wine, non? I 'tink ta German would enjoy ta vodka or ta rum. . . ."

The men let out another cheer as Gambit reemerged from the large quarters they were never allowed to enter, triumphantly holding up the wine and scotch as he had the bag of gold and jewels. Quiet as the cats she had been named for, Katherine appeared beside him and pouted. "Only three bottles? How come I never get to drink with you guys?"

"Because you're too young," Logan growled. He acknowledged Gambit with a snort as he took the scotch and ripped it open with his bare teeth. He spat the cork into the sea and began to drink before he bothered to remove the thick Cuban from between his lips. "And because somebody has to keep an eye out for land. You know the routine, Kit."

With Kitty in the crow's nest keeping an eye out for land they might crash into, the three men drank and drank. They drank until the three of them were so wasted they were hanging off one another and singing songs: Kurt in his German, Gambit's thick Cajun, and Wolverine was being... well, Wolverine. While Mystique had only provided them with three bottles, she knew nothing about the six bottles Gambit had "liberated" from the wine cellar of their previous victim.

"You know," Gambit hiccupped. He took a swig of tequila. Being a pirate, it was considered 'improper' to use lemon or salt while drinking tequila. He was too drunk to notice that his throat was burning from the alcohol. "Dis was 'ta weirdest heist Gambit was on. Gambit's in 'ta house, and Gambit's gets all fuzzy. Savez vous?"

"Of course, liebchen!" Kurt went slap his friend heartily on the back and missed. He swung around from a lever by his devilish tail. Only someone who had once worked in a circus could have mastered drinking upside down. "I'm da fuzzy blue elf! Mein head is naturally fuzzy!"

Gambit shook his head, his ruffled brown hair falling into his red eyes. "Dat's not it, Kurt. It be someting else."

From up in the rooftop, they hurt Kitty call the hour. "Two twenty-six am, and all is well!"

Wolverine hollered back, "You know, short stuff, you're supposed to do that every hour!"

"I fell asleep! Give me a brake!"

Gambit carefully rose. He tried to toss the empty tequila bottle overboard -and missed. "Merdre. How can Gambit miss a shot like de ocean?" He clutched his already throbbing head, and shook it, attempting to clear it of the alcohol. "Gambit need t'get up early tomorrow morning t'count our gold. It's been fun, gentlemen. Bonne nuit!"

All but sliding from one side of the ship to the other, Gambit staggered to the door, and went down a deck to the sleeping quarters. It was in time of his drunkenness that he wished he could phase like Kitty. Maybe that way he wouldn't wake up from bruises on his shoulders from banging into things. He swore again in French when the ground slipped from under him and he rolled uncontrollably down the stairs.

Laying there, he paused, waiting for the pain to hit him. Was anything broken? Even if he had broken a bone or two, he probably wouldn't be able to feel it until the morning. Until late in the morning. Being unable to walk was bad enough, but being unable to walk properly while being on a ship that was bouncing like a spanking new toddler was even worse.

Passing by John, he pointed up stairs. "There's some alcohol, if you hurry up." Was that really his voice that sounded so scratchy? "Don't go haywire, Pyro. Ta last thing Gambit be needing is ta wake up and find ta sails are gone like Gambit did two months ago."

"Yeah," the Auzzie grumbled. "That's why I was put on the night crew. I take it there was another good haul last night, eh mate?"

"Better dan dat. Jealous, fire-boy?" His cigarette -the fourth one since he had returned from the mission- flared dangerously. He laughed at John. "Gambit be taking dat as a yes."

"What good is the ability to burn stuff down when you want to steal stuff?" he demanded. "I swear you guys are keeping me here just so that I can keep the ship from burning down in the middle of the Atlantic."

"Meebe."

John went back the way Gambit had just come, and the Cajun proceeded to his bedroom. Using his cigarette, he lit a single candle. Fire was usually a bad idea on a ship. It was enough light for him to find his chair and throw off all his clothes. His staff he protectively placed in his closet. His box of smoked he put into his night stand's drawer, barely indistinguishable from the packages of playing cards. After that, he first tossed his leather jacket on the chair, followed by his vest Katherine mockingly called "fuschia". Kicking off his boots, he didn't bother bending over and putting them in their spot. That was too much effort. What was wrong with the floor anyway? The boots didn't care of it was cold and hard! 

Like any good pirate, he wore black leather boots that seemed to seamlessly with his black pants. They too, went soaring on to the back of the chair. Running a hand threw of hair, he caught sight of himself in the cracked mirror. Glass never lasted long on a ship, but he was too vain to go without one. Mystique had been right. Even if he could shave all the way while the sea tossed the ship about, he'd still attract the ladies like bees to honey.

"Gambit has got t'admit it. He be one good looking man."

Falling into bed, he landed on his back, and didn't even bother pulling the covers over his naked body. It was a beautiful summer night outside, and the cabin got very stuffy. Barely holding unto the realm of the awake, he reached over and opened the porthole. That would get some breeze blowing in. 

He fell asleep without even realizing that there was a human shaped body buried under the covers beside him. . . .

  
  


****

  
  


"Merdre," Gambit yawned. "Gambit got to remember not t'drink so much." He clutched his head, as if that would help to ease over some of the pain from his hangover. He rubbed his eyes before opening them, grumbling any swear word he knew when the sun practically blinded him. He angrily slammed the porthole closed and released the drape he had nailed -with seven nails in each corner and in the middle- to the wall. It was yet another thing in the room he had stolen. Everything in his bedroom was stolen!

He yawned and tried to go back to bed, but froze when he heard a sigh. That definitely hadn't been him. In fact, it had sounded like a female voice. Fearing that in his escapade with the alcohol he'd done something to Kitty that Wolverine would keelhaul him for before making his body a walking pincushion, he threw the covers aside and a whole new seat of fears replaced his old ones.

There was a girl in his bed!

"Mon dieu!" Gambit breathed. It wasn't a girl in his bed, it was an angel! Gambit actually crossed himself.

The girl had wavy auburn hair, her slumbering face framed by a white streak on either side. Her lashes fluttered on her cheeks as she slowly returned from dreamland. Gambit quickly grabbed anything he could to cover himself up, suddenly feeling rather nervous that she'd caught him naked in his own bedrooms. She yawned, stretching as if the thin mattress had been the bed fitting for a queen. Her eyes open, he found that they were a shade of green prettier than any emerald he'd ever seen.

"Why ya'll coverin' yerself up?" she demanded. The girl had a thick Southern accent Gambit found rather comforting. He'd missed the south. She sat up and bed, and gambit corrected his earlier thoughts. Clearly, this was a woman. Her shirt had a high collar, and where it ended she wore black gloves. Her pants were well worn, and nothing spectacular, but on her Gambit thought they were amazing. Grabbing her boots from under the bed, she shoved them under her feet: leather boots not too different from his. "Ah already saw ya'll last night."

For whatever reason, that thought made Gambit move. He dove for the night stand and drew out the first deck of cards he saw: unfortunately, they were his box of cigarettes. Confused only for a second, he mentally shrugged off his mistake and help up a cigarette threateningly. "Gambit tinks you be a stowaway. De Boss, she don't take quietly to stowaways."

"Ah ain't no stowaway, yah swamp rat!" The girl stopped up and put her hands on her hip. "And what d'ya think ya' doin'? Ya gonna attack a helpless woman with a cigarette? Yer stupider than Ah though ya were! It's kinda hard to become a pirate when ya don't hold auditions. Ah came on board the only way Ah knew how."

"Felicitations," he sarcastically said. "Meebe Gambit might care if he knew why you be in his bed -not dat he be complaining- and why you wanna be a pirate wit' us. Or who you are, mademoiselle."

"Mah name's Rogue," she answered. "Ah hear ya guys are the best of the best. Wanted in all seven seas, they say. Even better, ya use nothin' but what ya got: smarts... and powers. Well, yah might not use yer smarts seein' as how ya don't got any. Ah figured that ya guys might be needin' a hand or two. So before the ship set sail, Ah hoped on board and figured Ah'd wait till mornin' to introduce myself."

Gambit smiled despite himself. "Oh, wonderful plan, Rogue. Wait until we be in da middle of t'ocean to come out a' hiding. What did you want us to do? Drow you overboard?"

"Ah'd like ta see you try, samp rat! Ah'd kick yer ass before ya even got close! And throwin' me overboard ain't gonna do much." To demonstrate, Rogue, without warning, began to hover, her green eyes gloating. "See?"

Gambit frowned. "I 'tink I liked you better asleep, Rogue. You weren't so annoying den. Dis ain't Gambit's area a' expertise. If you be looking for a job, you'd better be seeing de boss."

Leaning against his night stand, he smirked. Gambit even more pirate-like that way. For the first time, the girl he was trying to impress did nothing. His grin grew slightly the angel he'd found in his bed was going to be a challenge. "Dat's an impressive skill, but Gambit don't go bothering the boss for no reason. A flying stowaway isn't someting Gambit would go to de boss for. You got any oter gifts?"

She pursed her lips. "Yeah. Ah got ahnother power. But, like yer boss, Ah don't let just anybody see it. Mainly 'cause Ah don't like using it. Unless ya got a death wish, Ah don't suggest askin' fer a demonstration."

He arched an eyebrow, looking even smugger from the action. "Oh, but Gambit is, Petite, Gambit is. What's da matter? Doesn't de soudern belle have control over her powers? Poor little baby! Quelle domage! We can't take on buccaneers who can't control deir powers."

"Ah can't control this one," Rogue huffed. The way her chest moved made Gambit think of naughty thoughts. "Ah don't use my other powers 'cause they hurt people. As long as people don't get close ta me, everybody's just fine. Besides, ain't the ability ta fly good enough? D'ya know how handy that'll be, bein' a pirate? Just take me to the boss! Let them make the decision!"

"Petite, you still haven't answered all of Gambit's questions." He wagged a finger at her.

"Do ya always refer ta yerself in the third person? Great! The stories about the famous 'Gambit' neva' said ya had bad gramma'! Ah got tired, ya happy now? This was the first room with a bed ah found. And the only one Ah found that looked like a real room."

He didn't think he'd ever be able to get anything else out of her. Gambit relented and took Rogue up to the boss' quarters. Everybody was already awake, as the life of a pirate was never over. They received several inquisitive expressions, but nobody approached them.

The last stowaway they had, had met an untimely end: she'd become the ship treasurer and they'd been ordered to treat her as cruelly as possible. Mystique had wanted to make sure she would measure up. Chances are, since it was a female, she would be given the same chance.

Kurt teleported down the nest, where he had been talking to Pyro. "That vas some voman, Gambit! Vere ever did you find her?"

"In my bed."

"Vell, vhy aren't you in there with them?"

For the first time since he had been working on the Raven, Gambit had been turned out of Mystique's office. He only wished he knew the answer to Kurt's question. Why wasn't he in there, dammit? He turned to Katherine for help, who was busy swabbing the decks, as she did every morning when it wasn't raining. A clean ship was an effective ship.

"Do you tink you could sneak in dere and tell Gambit what's going on, Petite? Gambit really want ta know."

She sadly shook her head no. "I can pass through walls, Gambit. I can't turn invisible! She'd see me, as clearly as you can now."

Leaving them with the orders to contact him as soon as Mystique was done with Rogue, Gambit went to the galley and began to prepare lunch. Breakfast had already long passed. The problem with working with a small crew was that everybody had to pull double (or triple) shifts. Try as he might, his head was invaded by thoughts of the mysterious girl he had found in his bedroom. Who was she, really? Why did she want to join the Raven? Everybody had their reasons. . . .

After what seemed like ages, Kitty phased through the ceiling. She was a bundle of energy. "Gambit! Guess what? Mystique just said that Rogue could stay! I'm gonna have a roommate!"

Gambit was about to say something, but he was cut off by the alarm bell. In the background, they could barely hear Pyro shouting: "To your battle stations! It's the Cerebro!"

He groaned. 'Captain Baldy, entering at the most inopportune time, as usual,' he thought.

Using Katherine's rather handy powers, they floated to the stage of their new battle, everyone but Rogue and Mystique were in a blur of movement. Gambit clamped a hand on Rogue's shoulder, not missing to notice how she flinched at the contact. "Looks as do Gambit will introduce you to de oters at a later date. Now it be time for war. You picked a good day to die, Cherie." 


	2. Chapter Two

  
  


Author's Notes: No, I don't think that I'm going to go into the whole Mystique/Kurt/Rogue thingy, but... well see. Hey. I have enough of a problem here trying to get a plot and trying to avoid having Rogue go crazy. ^_^ Because, I mean... Yeah, having Rogue go crazy will make this a LOOOOONG story, and it's plenty long in my head at this point, as I try to develop a realistic love story here. ^_^ Thank you for all you wonderful reviews!! Trust me, they really motivated me... and I think several of my friends want to kill me for ranting about how kickass they were. There was much ranting involved. ^_^ V   So far I have five chapters written, and now I have writer's block again, which means I'll have to go on a comic book shopping spree to try and figure out what to do next.  I hope that you'll all enjoy this chapter as much as the last!!

  
  


Chapter Two

  
  


Rogue stood in Mystique's chambers, her chin held high. She wasn't allowed to let the blue skinned captain see her nervousness. "Why do Ah want to become a pirate?" she repeated. "Well, that's easy. Ah wanna see the world, and travel. Ah can't do that when mah parents want me ta stay in the South and become some well bred lady. Ah ain't no well bred lady. Ah'm a hard worker, if that's what yer wonderin'."

"It was one of the things I was questioning," Mystique replied. "But what about our reputation? Why did you come to us? Was in the money, or something else?"

"Ah don't know," she honestly said. She brushed the white streaks out of her green eyes, although that didn't help to see any better with the blinding sea hiding Mystique's face. Rogue fiddled with the edges of her shirt. "Ah don't think it was the money. It just popped inta mah head ta become a pirate and have adventures and travel the seven seas. So that's what Ah'm here for. Ta join yer team, if you'll have me. And, plus, you'll except me. Ah mean, Ah ain't trying to sound cocky or nothin', it's just that you guys accept people who are different, and Ah'm different. And Ah'm a woman. Those're pretty good reasons why Ah couldn't join the army and stuff. They don't exactly let women in, let alone women like me."

She tapped her fingers on the armrest of her chair. "Well, I truly doubt that gambit would have brought you up here to talk to me if he didn't think you were going to be an asset to our team. And you say you can fly? I'll have to get Nightcrawler to teach you the ropes. Although. . . ." 

Mystique studied Rogue's face intently, and in the end she smiled. "Yes, I can see there being another reason as to why he may like to keep you. But you say that... what was it? No one can touch your skin? Why is that?"

"Well, it's the reason why Ah got mah flyin' power ta begin with." The new topic of conversation made Rogue feel so uncomfortable she actually stopped fiddling with her shirt hem to stand perfectly still. She kept her head up, and straightened her back, which made her feel much more confident. "Yah see, when people touch me, mah skin absorbs their powers. Ah wish Ah could stop it, but Ah've tried, and Ah haven't been able to find a way. Yet, hopefully. The other people still keep their powers and everythin', so Ah guess ya could say Ah copy more than Ah take. Ah also take their memories, or personalities. There's a lot of people in mah head."

"What happens to your victim?" Mystique saw Rogue's eyes widen, but she was the way she always was as she responded: motionless. Mystique moved about her ship like a shadow: it seemed she didn't move at all. "I know you might not intend people to be your victim, but the fact is that I don't have anything else to call them."

Her eyes traveled downwards. "Well, if the touch is brief, then they just... nothin', really, but a little exhaustion. The longer the contact, the more energy Ah take, and the less energy they have. The first boy Ah ever kissed was in a coma for... well, he's still in it."

They were both silent. Mystique studied Rogue, who was patiently waiting for any type of response, even if it were an order to throw her overboard. At least she would know she wasn't accepted. The captain rocked back and forth in her chair. Finally, she stopped rocking. "What can you do? Can you cook?"

"Can't everybody?"

"We're just getting sick of always eating Cajun food when we're in the sea," Mystique chuckled. She stopped laughing when she saw the glimmer in Rogue's eye.

Rogue blinked, and bit her tongue to keep from smiling. "The swamp rat can cook?" She realized the captain was staring at her and shrugged, attempting to appear casual and thus bring her brain back down from the clouds. "Ah just didn't think someone like Gambit would cook. At all. He seemed more like the type that would chain a woman to the stove while he went of with his dozen or more mistresses."

Mystique paused, and then laughed again, this time earnestly. "Oh, this is going to be interesting. Rogue, I don't begrudge anything you do to the Cajun as long as you don't put him into a coma. He's one of the few people we have on board who has attack magic, and can perform any duty. Plus, I'd hate to have to train a new second in command." She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out paper with more elegance than Rogue had ever been able to learn. "Sign this. It's a three year contract."

"Pirates have to sign contracts?" Rogue asked skeptically. 

"Pirates have to do business, just like anyone else. Basically, it says that unless you contract a contagious illness, become unable to work on a ship, die -which is really the same as the second- or mutiny in any way shape or form, you're mine for the next three years. The pay is fifty percent of anything you bring in. You bring in, understand?"

She swallowed, and glanced over the top of the parchment. "You mean Ah go riskin' mah neck stealing stuff, maybe even killin' people if needs be, and Ah only get half of what Ah bring in? Isn't that... well, a little low? Ah'm riskin' jail time or death here."

The captain of the Raven glared back, and was much more effective at it than Rogue. "Will you let me finish instead of interrupting? Do that later on and I swear I'll throw you into the brig. You get fifty percent in three years. The reason why it's so low is because the rest of the cost goes towards the ship. You don't have to pay for food, repairs, housing, or the like. That, and we all own an island together. You know how it is with pirates and islands."

"Ya own an island all to yer goddam self?!" She remembered she was interrupting and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Ah'm sorry."

"Don't worry. Most people react that way. Pirates are just regular old businesspeople after all, Rogue. We live, and make money, and sometimes we even marry. My husband's there waiting for me, so's Kurt's girlfriend. Your money has to go towards clothing them, of course. They look after the island while we're gone. Now, if you can survive the first three years, there's a five percent raise. Work for me even longer, and you'll be making seventy-five percent, like Gambit."

"Gambit? So how long has swamp rat been working for you, then?" Rogue inquired, folding her arms. Gambit infuriated her too much to ask him any personal questions, but she could always get her information from the captain. "Fifteen years? So how old does that make him, then?" Her jaw dropped. "Yer kiddin' me! He's twenty seven? But that means that he started when he was twelve years old!"

Smiling, Mystique gave a shrill whistle. Half a second later, a young girl came running into the room; without even opening up the door first. Rogue fell into a chair, staring at the girl with the brown hair. The girl gave a proper curtsy, shook her head as if to clear it, and gave a clumsy bow instead. "You whistled, Captain?"

Mystique gestured to Rogue. "This is Rogue. She's just about to sign a contract and began our latest acquirement. You two have a lot in common. You both snuck aboard my ship. Of course, since Rogue can't float through walls, I have yet to learn how she managed to do it, but we'll have plenty of time to discuss that. You two will be rooming together. I doubt that you'll fit into Katherine's clothes, but we'll find you some more things to wear. Rogue, this is Katherine." Mystique rolled her eyes. "Now will you get a move on girl? Don't think I don't know that Gambit asked you to report to him about Rogue's acceptance."

Kitty bowed again and vanished through the door. Unnerved, Rogue sank into the chair and took a deep breath. She gave a tiny smile, and then took a deeper breath. The chair smelled like Gambit. 

Rogue jumped off the chair with a start. The chair smelled like Gambit? Why did she care that the chair smelled like Gambit? For that matter, how did she care what the Cajun smelled like? Well, he smelled like cigarette smoke and expensive cologne he'd probably stolen. 

Shaking her head to clear away these distracting thoughts, she signed the offered document in a flourishing sweep. No sooner had she signed the document, a foreboding bell began to loudly ring. Rogue's eyes snapped open and she stared about, frightened.

Mystique threw on a captain's hat and walked outside. "Don't worry about the bell. It's a warning bell, that's all. We've never been caught yet, and we never will as long as I'm the captain."

"To your battle stations!" Pyro shouted. "It's the Cerebro!"

Leaning on the railing at the helm, Mystique cursed in the way only a pissed of pirate could. "Captain Xavier."

The Southern belle caught the helmsman with the rather pointy hair and pointier teeth eyeing her. She glared back, and flipped him the bird. Unable to take his hands from the large wheel, the squarish man unsheathed six deadly-looking claws from his hands, and grinned violently. "You wanna fight, bub? Fight them, not me," he growled.

"Ah hope ya poke yerself in yer eyes with those toys of yers!"

"Quit your bickering, both of you!" Mystique hollered. "Wolverine, take evasive action! Rogue, stand here with me, so that you can learn what to do."

Doing so, she flinched when a hand clamped down on her shoulder. Somehow, she knew it was Gambit's. Rogue gulped and slowly turned to look up at him. For the second time that day, she took a deep breath, trying to remember his scent. For the tenth time that day, his charming, mischievous grin reminded her just how handsome he was, and how cursed she was. His red and black eyes seemed to pierce her green was, and the way his long hair framed his cheeks she wanted to run a hand through it to ruffle it about. Sometimes, when he looked at her, she felt beautiful, although the only thing she could ever see in those penetrating eyes were, surprisingly, boyish ambitions of being a cutthroat. 

"Looks as do gambit will introduce you to de oters at a later date," he said. As annoying as his lack of grammar was, she loved his accents. Rogue swallowed hard, steeling her looks as she gazed over the sea the color of her eyes. "Now it be time for war. You picked a good day to die, mon chere."

"Ah thought Ah told ya not ta touch me!" she snapped, flinging her shoulder out from his hand. The ocean hair was cold on her skin after feeling the warmth of his hand seep under her clothes, as if it were a poison. "And Ah ain't gonna die! Ya got a sick sense of humour, swamp rat. So who is this Captain Xavier?"

Gambit answered, although the question had been directed at Mystique. "You mean you became a pirate but you never heard of Captain Legs, mon chere? Well, dere are basically five types of people out on de sea. Dere are de fishermen, de explorers, de navies of de world, de merchants, and den dere are de pirates. We be the not so good pirates. We steal only from de rich, but we keep all de gold t'ourselves. We are de profiteering type of buccaneers. Den dere are de... saivez vous de character Robin Hood? Bien. Den dere are de not so bad pirates. Dey steal from de reely rich, and give all de money ta de poor people of de world. De're led by de Captain Xavier, and dere ship is called de Cerebro. Interestingly, dey are also made up of... people like us."

"And why exactly are we goin' to fight them?" Rogue inquired. "Ah mean, if we're all on the same side -against all the people who take money and stuff- then we are goin' to fight them?"

Mystique answered, although the question had been directed at Gambit. "Because we're businessmen, remember? There are so many rich people in the world, and right now, the Raven is one of the richest. Eventually the thieves will become the target, as gambit well knows."

Rogue's head whipped over to Gambit, whose handsome face was like stone. Sighing, Rogue crossed her arms over her chest. "Y'all are so confusin'."

The Captain of the ship, without warning, leaned over. Her yellow eyes narrowed, and she turned on Wolverine, who didn't seem to care. The man was a storm cloud of cheerfulness, and had less emotion than a rock. "I told you to take evasive action! Why aren't we moving? Ah, shit! It's that Storm, isn't it?"

From the sails, Kurt bamfed down. Rogue showed only a slight amount of startlement at a fuzzy blue elf appearing from nowhere. "Ack! Mystique, ze sails, zey are not moving! Ze vind has vanished."

"Prepare the cannonballs, you two!" she ordered. "Storm can't keep the weather out of the sky if we're going to try and shoot her down."

She scanned the water, but couldn't find the ship anywhere. "Where exactly are they?" she asked, turning to Gambit. At that moment, she could have died and been happy. Rogue felt the temperature of the whole ship rise. Gambit had taken off his leather jacket and was currently in the midst of unbuttoning his pirate-like shirt. She could already see his hard chest beginning to appear. She immediately turned to Mystique, who was pointing up, and yelling coordinates at Katherine, who was setting up the cannons. Rogue looked up -way up- and was so startled, she jumped.

"Beginning to regret becoming a pirate?" Mystique asked with a sly, predatory grin.

"No," she answered, beginning to smile. "It's more than Ah ever though it could be. There are so many things Ah can see now. Like a ship in the sky. I never though that would be even possible. How in the world are they doin' it?"

Mystique's wolfish grin sunk into a frown. "The Captain's a psychic, and one of his woman disgustingly good-hearted companion is a weak psychic and a strong telepath. Storm can control the weather, and has literally taken the wind out of our sails, but they can still move around because of Jean Grey."

Whistling approval, Rogue arched an eyebrow. "It's pretty impressive." From the corner of her eye, she saw the blue man and the Cajun shoving cannonballs into the cannons, while Kitty stood nearby, torch ready. Her sensous mouth curved into a smile. "Most impressive indeed."

Half a second later, she reprimanded her thoughts, mentally kicking herself in the head. 'What the hell do you think you're doing, girl? Don't you dare think about what it would be like to touch him or get close to him? Do you want him dead? No, seriously dead, not wishing he was tied up in some corner where his ego would bother you. Because if I get close to him, that's what he'll be. So focus on the task at hand, will you! By the way, the task at hand is not Gambit!'

"Ready the cannons!" Mystique shouted. Far above them, Rogue could barely make out someone in white circling around the ship. "Fire on my order!"

No, a voice said. Rogue looked around, trying to find the owner, but there was no one there. Even odder, was the fact that it sounded inside her hear. Over by the cannons, she spotted Katherine doing the same. The voice inside her head chuckled. I see you've picked up two new recruits, Captain Mystique. Don't be so surprised, girls. This is telepathy. Hopefully, you'll become quite accustomed to it. My name is Captain Xavier, Captain of the Cerebro, the ship floating above you now. Captain Raven, you can clearly see that we have you in our grasp, so please surrender.

Mystique didn't say anything, but a second later the voice was back. Rogue found the English accent soothing, in an odd way, but a different odd way than she had found Gambit's voice pleasing. This is why she needed to go out into the world; to experience life.

Yes, I know that you never surrender, but this is a conditional surrender. It only lasts for two hours, and then we'll let you go. We want to talk, not to board your ship and take your gold. Besides, judging from Lady Pryde's thoughts, we couldn't do that if we wanted to. The Captain is the only one with the code to the safe, and she'd never tell. There was a pause. Well child, your broadcasting them as clear as clear can be. You haven't had the time to develop the mental blocks to keep the thoughts on the top of your mind out of my reach. Maybe Magneto could teach you as he did his wife. Don't be so cocky, Rogue, you're broadcasting too.

Rogue felt her face go pink, but the voice didn't say anything else. He seemed to be busy elsewhere.

How do you know that I'll keep my word? I'm an Englishman, Lady raven. I never go back on my word. Besides, if we wanted to board your ship, I think we would have done so already, don't you? I doubt that even your crew or safe could stand up to the powers of my crew. Besides, this isn't an invitation.

A flash of light briefly blinded Rogue, and when they cleared she found herself on a deck of a similar (though much larger) ship, and the rest of her new family with her. Mystique now stood in front of them all, hands on her wide hips. Judging from her stance and the way her foot tapped, it was clear to see that she was irked. Gambit stood beside her, and Rogue all but leaned against him. She knew he had made sure to stand beside her, and she could be just as teasing. Maybe she should give him a little zap, just as a warning shot. His ego could use a little shrinking. . . .

On her other side, Katherine shifted next to Kurt, who wrapped his tail around her waist and held her protectively. She smiled. That was kind of cute. Wolverine, of course, was at the back of the group, leaning against the railing and brooding about in his cloud of personal misery. Beside him, John was adding his own fiery anger to the mix.

Finally, she noticed the people standing -or sitting- in front of Mystique. The most obvious of them was a tall boy even taller than Gambit, but clearly built just as well. His hair was coal black, and his eyes were bright blue. (Rogue could tell when Kitty spotted the shirtless man because the dark haired girl began to turn even redder than she had been when Captain Xavier criticized her.) Standing beside the teenage boy, stood a woman with bright red hair. She was dressed in a tight tank top, calf-length boots, and even tighter jeans. Rogue wasn't sure of the red-head's hair colour because her eyes were closed, but she was certain she radiated a wave of power. She speculated the woman was Jean Grey, who was busy keeping the ship in the air. (Rogue knew when Gambit spotted the psychic because he smiled and drew himself up, and also because the man beside her stepped in front of Jean Grey protectively.)

The man who was now blocking Jean was exactly the type of person Rogue knew and disliked: a brown noser. It was evident by the way the man with the burgundy glasses stood. The last man there was Captain Xavier. A bald man, he was obviously crippled. Rogue stared at the male captain, but not because he had no use of his legs. She stared because he was floating on what appeared to be a magic carpet.

Mystique glared pointlessly at Jean, who she had always hated. "I see that your powers have grown, Jean. I'd congratulate you, but you pissed me off too much."

"Be nice, Raven. Welcome to the Cerebro. We won't keep you for very long, don't worry. Then Jean will return you to your ship. We just want to talk. My crew and I. . . ."

"As much as we don't like it," the auburn haired man guarding the psychic woman interrupted. Rogue found it surprising, considering the man seemed have the personality of come combination of a wet cloth and a golden retriever. Behind her, she heard Wolverine snicker harshly. The other pirate snapped towards the sound. "Have you got something you want to say to me?"

Wolverine's toothy grin stretched from ear to ear. He once again unsheathed his claws; but this time inly one, which he used to pick between his teeth. "Yeah, I do, bub. Learn a little respect for your elders." The pirates of the Raven -Rogue included- had to stifle their own giggles at the idea of Wolverine lecturing the stick in the mud.

"Scott," Captain Xavier warned. The man feel back into place. Steepling his fingers, the bald man continued. "As I was saying, my crew and I... need your help. You see, we discovered something quite... interesting, but we need your help to get it."

Mystique voice's was as dangerous as a cat's purr before it attacked a mouse. "And what could possibly be interesting enough to have you come crawling to me, Charles? I'm sure you'd walk, if you could, so I suppose it's not your fault that you had to come in such a pathetic manner. Yes, what else indeed but treasure? What treasure could possibly be worth teaming up with a crew as pathetic as the one I see before me? Gold? We have enough of that. Silver? We have more silver than we have gold! If our ship gets anymore rich, we shall sink!"

"Power," he said. The eyes of the Raven's crew widened, and he smiled. "I though you might react that way. This is a treasure that can make all your wildest dreams come true. It is an ancient temple, dedicated to the gods of the ancient Romans. Legend has it there are twelve amulets, each one with a certain ability. That of Apollo is said to cure any illness. We want that gemstone. In return for your help, you and your crew can have the other eleven stones, as well as half of the immeasurable amounts of treasure in the temple."

"Desecrating a temple, Charles? Are you really that desperate for your mobility back?" she queried.

"It cures illness, Raven. It won't fix any ailment, unfortunately. Now, shall I give you a few moments to decide? Perhaps you and your crew may join us downstairs for lunch?"

Rogue felt Gambit lean down to whisper in her ear. If she turned her face, their lips might touch. Her breath caught in her throat. "Mon dieu," he whispered. "De power of de gods. De tings one might be able ta do wit dose gems!"

She turned her face, her green eyes inflamed with passion. She tilted her neck back a bit, so that there wasn't any chance of them touching. "Ah hope you mean all the good things, Cajun. Now will you back off a bit? Ah girl needs her space."

"Funny, but by de way your acting, Gambit might get it into his head that you might be needing to be kissed." One of his eyebrows rose in a teasing and infuriating manner. A smile touched the corner of his mouth. Despite the dangers, Rogue felt herself beginning to wish she could jump into his arms and kiss him into place. "Is gambit right, mon chere?"

"Absolutely not, swamp rat!" she hissed. Her eyes narrowed at him. Grabbing his shirt, she pulled him closer with more strength than Gambit had thought possible. He began to think that flying wasn't her only power. "Listen ta me, Cajun. Ya don't get close ta mah skin, ya hear? Ah steal people's energy or their powers! You wanna be in a goddamn coma for a year, you keep buggin' me and Ah'll make it happen. Ya wanna keep on livin' in the land of the awake, ya keep your goddamn body away from mine!"

"Gambit's willing to risk it for a beautiful lady," he said, infuriating her even more. He just didn't seem to understand.

"Gambit!!" Mystique snapped. Her irritated foot began to tap twice as fast. She'd turned around and the two southerners were making googly eyes at each other. Her already frowning face became creased. "I knew I should've castrated you when you came on board. Well, you're the second-in-command. What do you think of the Captain's generous offer?"

He shrugged. "I think we should take it." 

"All right, Charles. We accept... but we have conditions. . . ."

  
  


****

  
  


Half an hour later, the crews were still standing aboard the ship, although it had been lowered back down in the water. Mystique and Xavier stood at the command post, and began introductions. Rogue made sure to pay close attention, as she was still uncertain of some of the powers and code names of her own crew members.

"Jean Grey, whom you've already met." Jean appeared fatigued, but she still managed to give them all a perky smile. Rogue bit her tongue to keep from saying anything. Little Miss Perfect and The Good Boy were obviously a couple. "She has telekinesis and is psychic. She acts as ship's treasurer."

"Well then," Mystique said in her proud yet sultry voice, as if trying to seduce Xavier through her sexuality and power by outdoing him at every turn. "Meet our ship treasurer...

"Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, codename Shadowcat. She has the ability to travel through objects, as well as walk on individual molecules." Katherine, still sticking like glue to Kurt, did her lady like curtsy, but did not bow afterwards. Rogue swore she saw the large, blue eyed man give Kitty a private smile, and the other girl turn pink, but she might have been mistaken.

"Our night watchman is currently sleeping downstairs. His name is Warren. . . ." The captain was about to say something, but stopped, and then picked up again at what Rogue swore was further ahead. "We refer to him as Angel, because he has wonderful white wings. His power should be obvious."

"Our night watchman should be downstairs sleeping," Mystique growled, but we were rudely taken off our ship. This is John; sorry Charles: tit for tat. You can know his last name when you tell me Warren's. His codename is Pyro because he can control fire." She rolled her eyes when she saw Scott square his shoulders. "Relax, Mr. Summers. He doesn't make it. Pyro's saved our ship more than a few times. But I suggest you watch yourself. He has quite a temper. I wouldn't suggest making an enemy out of him, Cyclops."

"Yes, this is Scott Summers. . . ."

"You can call me Mr. Summers," Scott said to the other crew. Rogue could feel Gambit's body tense in anger; the fool still hadn't moved it, making Rogue feel as if she were going to scream.

Mystique glared at him. "Will you shut up? If you're the person that Charles refers to as one of his best crew members, I hate to see the rudeness of your other crew members. Oh, and Cyclops, having optic blasts and being a dick really don't count a shaving powers. Now, if you had a dick, that would be a miracle."

The two began to bicker, and Rogue's jaw dropped. "Is she always like this?"

Gambit nodded. "Usually. It's Mystique's nature."

Wolverine's footsteps drew close, pounding on the wooden deck. "Yeah, but Cyke's just irked because the stick up his ass has a stick up it's ass. Excuse me, Captain... Cyke... but I'm missing my lunch while you two are fighting, so let's get this happy, sharing time over with before I vomit. And that wasn't a request. I'm Wolverine, Helmsman, and if anybody bothers me for any more information, they're going overboard. By the way, if you guys planning on singing Kumbaya at any time during this voyage, I'm sinking the ship."

"Such anger!" a powerful voice said. A beautiful woman wearing silk clothes gently landed on the deck. Her white hair began to wind about her face and elegant neck as the wind picked back up. She wore not a single piece of jewellery, but she didn't need any to look like royalty. She had white eyes framed by lashes as dark as her skin. "Calm yourself! I am Ororo, but I am called Storm, or the Goddess Windrider. I also cook."

"Oh bother, Ah guess Ah might as well. Hi y'all. Ah'm Rogue." She paused, tempted to say: and I'm an alcoholic. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten in twenty four hours. No wonder she couldn't control her brain. It was a good things she hadn't lost control of the voices in her head. If she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep, she doubted she would have losted so long without losing her sanity. "Ah'm the cook of the Raven... yeah, sorry fer not tellin' ya earlier, Gambit, but Ah took over yer position. Anyway, Ah can fly, like Storm there, and Ah can also unwillin'ly absorb powers and knock y'all out pretty good, so y'all stay the hell away from me, we'll all be just fine."

"My name is Piotr Rasputin," the tall man said in a thick Russian accent. "I am the Helmsman of the Cerebro." He put his hand behind his back. "I think that's everything."

"What do you do, Peter?" Kitty asked quietly from the back. Gambit glanced over to look at her, never having heard her so meek before. Katherine, like all of the pirates on the Raven with the exception of Kurt, had a pirate-like attitude. She shyly clung closer to Kurt, one foot behind the other, the hind foot swaying nervously.

Peter went as red as Kitty. The two youngest of all the buccaneers, they immediately had a liking of each other. "Ah, thank you Katya." Katherine's blush went a tad deeper. "I can turn my body into metal. Actually, it's a type of organic metal."

Kurt's eyes narrowed at Peter. Rogue tilted her head, interested. Hadn't Mystique told her that Kurt had a girlfriend? He looked pretty jealous and protecting of Katherine. "My name is Kurt Vagner," he introduced himself. "But in ze Munich circus I vas called ze incredible Nightcrawler, and se name stuck. I can teleport myself, alzough it causes quite a smell vehn I do. It's not mine fault, I'm afraid. I vork the ropes of ze sails."

Gambit smiled. "And you saved de best for last! Gambit's my name, and if you want da know Gambit's real name, you better get da know Gambit really well. I'm the second of the Raven."

Xavier smiled at the two crews. "Ladies and gentleman, meet your companions for the next several weeks. The first step on our journey is Buccaneer Island to store the Raven and to find the treasure map that will lead us to the temple of the gods. Try not to kill each other. If you all follow Storm, she'll lead you to the dining hall. This ship pretty much sails itself, so you'll be in for a pleasant journey."

When they all left, he glanced up at the blue skinned captain. "How long do you give them before the start to fight?"

"About a day. If Scott continues to bother us, then I give myself about half an hour." 


	3. Chapter Three

AN: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They kept me feeling all warm and fuzzy during the time when I suffered through having no net. But I'm back now!!! Yeah! ^_^ 

Pengwinn, I'm glad you find my story so funny. I work really hard top try and put humour in because it doesn't come to me easily, so hearing you say that makes it all seem worthwhile. 

Kahren, if you can't see the X-Men as pirates, then I really hate to tell you this, but I got the idea from an Uncanny X-Men, where Kitty tells Illyana a bed time story and all the X-Men are pirates. Kitty is, of course, the Captain. (FYI, Kurt looks perfectly adorable in it! *giggles*)

dimond sulvia, yeah, the pirate thing really does suit Remy. *tries not to swoon at the thought* 

Irony1, while this is mainly a Rpgue/Remy fic, there'll be some more hinting at couples stuff. Like... wait, can't tell you yet. I forgot, you're only at chapter three, but I'm currently writing chapter six... What? I said I only didn't have the internet! I still worked on writing it!

Staci, you know what? I can't get enough either! I feel like God playing with all my favourite characters like this!! *laughs manically* Wait till you see who the bad guys are!! (Course, that's in chapter six too... which I will hopefully have up soon!)

  
  
  
  


Chapter Three

  
  


The only sound from the dinner table was the sound of metal meeting plate, the crunching of salad, the occasional snort at the salad from Wolverine's seat as he munched away on a chicken breast, perfectly content. Sitting with refined posture was the pirate called Storm, and at last she had reached her breaking point. "Mr. Wolverine," she said in her awesome voice. "Have you no table manners whatsoever? Aren't you the least bit ashamed of yourself?"

"Not in the slightest, bub," the coarse helmsman replied. His beady black eyes glanced at Captain Xavier, who sat at one end of the table. "Keep your mind out mine, Charlie. I don't want no stinking table manners, ya hear? You leave me and my mind be or you'll find yourself one vertebra short of what you're feelin' now."

Rogue, sitting uncomfortably close to Gambit, put down her fork, and clasped her hands in her lap, as she had been taught for years to do. Only a Southern lady's touch could ease the situation over now. "Ah might be a little confused by what's goin' on here, so y'all have to forgive the new girl's confusion, ya hear? First of all, who in the world is driven this here ship, and secondly, where the heck are we headed ta? What's this Island?"

Captain Xavier answered the first question, leaving Mystique to field the second. "Our ship is set in cruise control, so to speak. Jean and I are steering it with our minds, and Storm is making certain we have a steady wind to push us, as we need one to pull the Raven behind us. That's the joy of having psychics on board, Rogue."

"As to where we're going, it's a secret island known only to a select few, and it will be your home when you're not onboard my ship. It's called Buccaneer Island, as it's filled with our significant others, and, on occasion, ourselves as well. Before us, it was ruled by even bloodthirstier pirates than your comrades in arms, Rogue. According to Charles and the scrolls he's managed to... well, I presume buy, the map that leads us to the gemstones is located somewhere on the island." Across from Captain Xavier, she sighed. The upper of her crossed legs began to swung up and down. "Sadly, it doesn't tell us where exactly on the island it is. Given the number of booby traps and places even I don't know about, searching the island could take weeks."

Katherine copied Rogue's example of her womanly position, just as the younger girl had been trained to do, although she tried to act like more of a man, usually. She kept her eyes away from the large man's that sat across the table from her. "So, are we actually going to search through the whole island? We could always divide it up, and look for it in teams."

"Gambit afraid dat would still take too long, Petite. No, only one person going to be searching for de scrolls. He be de King of Dieves, Petite." Gambit affectionately ruffled her ponytail, as he would a little sister.

Jean Grey paused in eating her salad, swallowed, and spoke, her eyes kind. "Pardon me for asking, but doesn't... ah. . . ." She struggled for a name, and found one. "Doesn't Katherine's plan sound a little more... shorter? Why search this large island with one person when all of us could do it together?"

"Because he be de King of Dieves," Gambit pointedly repeated.

Scott and Jean exchanged looks, and this time Scott spoke. "I'm sorry, Mr... ah, Mr. Gambit, but we having a hard time understanding your accent. You're telling us you have the King of what on board your ship?" 

Gambit rolled his eyes and Scott looked as though he hadn't a clue as to why Gambit had been insulted, so Kurt stepped up to bat. He also rolled his eyes, although no one but his friends could tell he had done this because of they glowed so brightly. "Mein freund said ve have ze King of Thieves, on board, Mr. Summers. It is a person who. . . ."

"I think that's enough, thank you, Kurt," Mystique interrupted, not wanting the ex-monk to give anything away. Jean Grey didn't seem to take the hint. Mystique always hated Captain Xavier's kids. 

"Are they like the Prince of Thieves?" she inquired in a hushed whisper.

"Kind of," Kurt muttered back. "Zey are a thief, and ze title means nothing ozer zan ze fact zat zey are considered ze best thieves in ze world." He grinned at her, showing his pointed teeth. "Is my accent becoming too thick now, liebchen?"

Mystique made another pass at trying to control the conversation.. She swirled wine the same bright red as her hair around in her cup, her yellow-white eyes staring at Xavier from across the table. "You must be happy about getting to see Magnus again, Charles. You haven't seen him in years."

Charles Xavier took a sip of his wine, and then beamed at Mystique across the long table. "I do look forward indeed to seeing my old friend, Raven. I only hope the years that were not so kind to me have treated him better." As if to explain his words, he ran a hand through non-existent hair. 

Rogue frowned, lost by the confusion of the conversations around the dinner table. Katherine and Peter were practically casting each others looks, and Kurt's tail swished like a snake when he saw them. Storm and Wolverine were still arguing about table manners as Wolverine began to smoke another cigar. Jean Grey and Scott Summers were not possibilities for conversation partners as they were busy staring into each other's eyes, and also because Rogue doubted the would make a conversation she could stand to be in for more than half a second. Although Jean really didn't seem like such a bad kid. . . . Pyro was already asleep on the table, ready to start snoring at any moment, while the two Captains were having their own conversation so confusing to the poor girl that it might have been in Yiddish for all she knew.

Practically the only person who wasn't involved in a discussion was Gambit. Leaning over, she was careful not to touch him as she whispered in his ear. "Whose this Magnus guy tha Captains are talkin' 'bout?"

"Oh, you mean Erik. It's de name of Mystique's husband. Mystique, Xavier, and Erik were all friends when dey were little, but dey all went deir separate ways. Actually, Xavier went his own way, believing dat mutants should use deir powers to help people." He smiled at her. "Gambit bets the beautiful lady didn't know she was getting herself into de middle of a philosophy battle when she signed up, did she?"

She shook her head. "Ah just thought Ah was goin' to earn a little cash. . . ."

"Would you two mind doing me a favour?" Mystique asked, interrupting Gambit and Rogue's talk. "Will you two be the first ones to go onboard the Raven and collect anything you may need for this trip? We'll be travelling on the Cerebro once we leave the Raven in the port. Rogue, you'll be able to fly you two over there, and if you go with Gambit than he'll be able to give you a tour of the Raven while you're onboard, so that you won't be lost once this little escapade is over. Alright?"

"Oui, madame," Gambit said, rising from his chair to bow. Rogue hastily followed him. When they were on the stern, he grinned at her. "Gambit bets you be wanting ta know about de King of Dieves and de politeness, hm? Don't de stories say dat pirates are supposed to be ruthless and such?"

"Ah don't really care much what tha stories say," Rogue admitted. "Ah became a pirate because Ah'd be able ta make some money and y'all accept me even though Ah have these powers that Ah haven't learned ta control yet. Now, don't ya get any ideas into that head of yers, swamp rat. Ah'm not your personal air lift service, ya hear!"

Wrapping her arms under her shoulders, she flew them across to the Raven. Gambit grinned up at her. She glared back down at him. "What are ya lookin' at, swamp rat?"

"Oh, rien, chere. Nothing. Nothing at all."

Rogue frowned and dropped him unto the deck without a second thought. She lounged in the air a moment before floating back down to the deck of the Raven. Rogue felt a little bad for dropping Gambit, but he'd pissed her off! What was with the high and mighty act? She dusted off her hands and gestured to the ship. "Alright, let's get this show started. Lead on, Mr. Second in command. Aren't you going to start tellin' me 'bout yer stories? Why don't we start with why y'all act like such a jerk t'me and go bowin' like a dawg when Mystique calls."

"Being polite, chere, is not de same as bowing like a dog. One of de primary rules on de ship: act polite to your capitainne or your oder superior officer. Dat means, mon amie, that you're going ta treat everybody on board in a nice way. Gambit looks forward ta see you act polite to him. No more dropping Gambit on the poop deck of the ship." He glanced over his shoulder to grin at her. "You might make him tink he was too heavy for you ta carry."

"Poop deck?" Rogue repeated, hiding a smile behind her gloved hand. "There's a part on this here ship called a poop deck?"

Gambit straightened up. "Why are you hiding your smile? Take you hand away. Gambit wants ta see your smile." He gently took her hand and held it in his own. His red eyes seemed to be on fire as he stared at her face. "See? Isn't dat better, chere?"

She was about to tell him off when he let her go and they continued on their way. Stepping around piles of spare rigging, she asked, "So who is this King of Thieves? Ah'm goin' to go out on a limb and say that since ya were so busy to bring up tha topic that yer the King in question. Although, it's kind of hard ta see you bein' the king of anythin'."

"Well, it is only a title," he admitted. "Gambit supposes you could say dat he has de nose for it. I used ta be a thief before I became I pirate."

"There's a difference?"

"Thieves don't sail," he said, as if that were enough of an explanation. "Gambit was the best thief in de New World. I could steal from anybody, including oder thieves who used to booby trap deir gold and jewels ta try and keep me out of it."

"Ah see... so, is that yer power then? Stealin' stuff? Bein' the best pirate in the world at twelve years of age?" He stared at her, suspicious. "Mystique and Ah had a short little chat about ya. Don't worry, ya didn't miss much."

He chuckled as her opened the door to the galley. "No, chere! My power is charging 

'tings with kinetic energy. Gambit touches something and does his little magic and -boom!- it explodes. And we all know what your power be. Now, unto de rooms." He shut the galley door and proceeded to show her the bedrooms. "Dis first room is going ta be your room. Right now, it just belongs ta Kitty. Right next door is Kurt."

Rogue bit her tongue and glanced at the two bedroom doors skeptically. "Ah've got a question 'bout those two. How come y'all protect her so much? If Ah didn't know any better, I'd say y'all are related or somethin'. She goes makin' googly eyes at the Russian on tha other ship, and Kurt practically bashes his head in. She suggests somethin' and it gets shot down and ya ruffle her hair. What is she, yer sister or something, set off ta grammar school to learn not ta be a swamp rat like her big brother?"

"Jealous, mon chere?" He laughed, and leaned against the wooden walls with a swashbuckler's stance. "No, Gambit nor Kurt or related to Katherine. De only people on board de ship who are related are Kurt and de Captain."

"Kurt and Mystique?" she repeated, her jaw dropping.

He grinned at her, only making Rogue mad that he was secretively laughing at her surprise. "What? De blue skin didn't give it away? You have a lot ta catch up on, Rogue. No, but she's de first girl besides de Captain we had on board. And she's young, which reminds us of us when we were little."

"If she's so young than what's she doin' here with the likes of you, Gambit?"

His toothy buccaneer grin grew. "Gambit, dis time, chere? Not swamp rat? Be still, Gambit's beating heart. I tink she likes me!"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "In yer dreams, swamp rat. Ah wouldn't like ya unless every other livin' thing in this world was dead. Ah'd pick a dung beetle over ya! Never mind about mah question, Ah'll ask her mahself." She paused, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she tried to ignore the awkward silence. Damn him, why did he always have to stare at her? Didn't Gambit ever blink? "So why are ya here? Yer always askin' me questions, isn't it about time Ah ask ya some?"

With a shrug, he walked across the crowded, narrow hallway to lean beside her. "Why did Gambit become a pirate? Gambit don't know."

As if sensing his lie, the sea gave a violent heave at the smaller ship. Caught off balance, Rogue went sailing into Gambit. Having spent fifteen years on the ship, there was not much that the sea could possibly do to make send him off balance. Reaching out, he grabbed Rogue and held her close, waiting for the ship's rocking to return to normal. Holding by the shoulders, he took a deep breath. For being a stowaway still covered in pieces of cobwebs or sawdust, she smelled good. Gambit didn't want to let her go.

She felt as if her rapidly beating heart was going to jump out of her chest. His clothes still held the faintest scents of alcohol from the night before. She was held against him so tightly she could feel the hard muscles of his chest. Rogue whispered to be released, terrified that she would hurt him. Her eyes closed despite herself.

Gambit began to stroke her hair gently. In all his years as pirate sailing the seven seas, he'd never known anything as intense as holding Rogue. The soothing motion of his hand made her fight against him, but not enough that she would actually heard him, he knew.

"Ah thought Ah made it clear ta ya not ta touch me," she said. "So let me go." Instead of listening to her, Gambit hugged Rogue tighter. She felt her face grow warm, and her mind panic. She pushed him away and began to nervously float in the hallway.

"Da ya think this is some type of a game?" She furiously demanded. Rogue stared at the Cajun, her wavy hair whipping around her face, gloved hands held in balls by her sides. "Do ya have any idea at all what's like for me, Cajun? Do ya? Ah can't touch anybody, Ah can't feel their skin against mine, Ah can't kiss or hold hands and ye're mockin' me for it! Don't ya ever come near me again, swamp rat!"

"Is all dis because Gambit hugged you or because your last boyfriend got hurt?" He waved his hand at Rogue as he spoke. "Chere, Gambit is a mutant. A freak of nature. No kiss could ever make me go under. Well. . . ." he grinned as he rubbed his chin. "No kiss could ever make Gambit go under anythin' but a persistent lady."

"Ye're hopeless! Why do ya have ta keep on flirtin' with me like that? Do ya get yer kicks outta makin' fun of little old me?" Her demands met with one of his smiles that she was beginning to despise as much as she loved.

"Because you're a pretty lady and Gambit likes the pretty ladies." 

Rogue crossed her arms, starting to float in the narrow hallway. "How could Ah ever have thought ya the least bit charmin'? Yer no better than the men back home, and they were a step below swamp rats! Ah hope ya fall in love with ugliest woman in the world, ya spineless snake! Ah've met... Ah've met spiders with more depth than ya! Ye're the shallowest creature in existence!" Rogue took off, flying, down the hallway. She turned around at the bottom of the stairs. "And Ah hope tha ugliest woman in the world cheats on ya too, just so that Ah can see the look on yer face when yer heart gets ripped in two!" 

Gambit's only response to her ranting was to whistle as he walked to his bedroom. "You know she loves you!"

  
  


****

  
  


"Captain!" Storm called. Xavier and Mystique both came to the white haired woman's side. Ororo pointed out to sea, where a dark cloud loomed low on the horizons, sitting like a waiting predator. "We appear to be heading into a storm or a fog. Might I perhaps be allowed to leave the ship so that I can blow it from our course?"

Mystique smiled. Storm wasn't so bad, after all. Mystique would prefer her over Jean any day. Why weren't all female pirates like Raven herself? At least Rogue showed potential for becoming the next female captain of the Raven once she decided to retire. 

"Not even you could blow that cloud away, Windrider," the blue skinned woman said. "It's made of magic, and the magic will last until long after you and I are gone. The island is the sister of Avalon, and beyond that lies the land I call home. Be proud, Windrider. You and your companions are about to see something very few are allowed to see who have not signed their contract with me in blood itself."

Katherine and Rogue were busy swabbing the decks. Rogue was quickly becoming amazed at how dirty the deck could become. Her anger from the previous day had long been forgotten, except for when she saw Gambit. Then she wanted to hit him. Several times, and in the face, and that. She laughed at one of Kitty's perky jokes. "Hey," the Southern woman eventually said. "Ah've been meanin' ta ask ya somethin', but with Storm sharin' our rooms, I couldn't find the proper time. Ya'll been brought up just as well-bred as Ah have, so Ah was wonderin' we ye're here, and at such a young age too."

She went a rather pretty shade of pink. "My parents wanted me to get married," she admitted. "Can you imagine? Married, at fifteen years of age to someone I haven't even met yet! I've got nothing against marriage, but not to a perfect stranger and not when I'm just getting used to the idea of finding men attractive. So I'm working here to try and get enough money so that I can buy myself a place in the country, far away from home, where I can enjoy life the way I want to live it. You? What do your well-bred parents think of marriage for you?"

Rogue frowned and began to mop the decks with more vigour than before. "Well, mah parents wanted me to marry, and marry well, although not at yer age. Now though, they probably think Ah was eaten by some type of wild animal or somethin'. Ah left the same day Ah found out Ah absorbed people's... soul or energy or mind or whatever. Because Ah do, ya know. My boyfriend... it's like Ah have his personality stuck in mah head. It's really annoyin'. How could Ah stick around when the life mah parents wanted me ta have isn't even possible? In case yah haven't noticed, it's kind of hard to consummate a marriage and make it all legal when Ah can't even kiss the person at the ceremony."

Her smile was weak. "Don't worry. I'd noticed. I wish there was something I could say and do could make it better, but. . . ."

Rogue ruffled her hair, surprised at herself. It really was easy to start liking these people, she realised, when they were so friendly and everyone was stuck together for such a long period of time. Pirate ships were more like a large family than people brought together for the love of gold or gems. "That's alright, Kitty. Ah just wish some people understood that as quickly as you or Storm." She glanced at Gambit, who was leaning on his staff beside Mystique at the helm. 

Within the blink of an eye, he was enveloped by fog. Within the time it took Rogue to blink again, she was encased in fog so thick she couldn't see Katherine, who was only inches away. "What the hell is this?" The fog tingled on her exposed skin, and she realized with horror that she was stealing it's magic. While this had never happened before, she had never encountered fairy magic before, either.

"Don't worry. It passes in about another two seconds. Beyond this is home. Wait until you see it, Rogue! It's beautiful."

Almost precisely two seconds later, Buccaneer Island came into view. Rogue's jaw dropped. She had never imagined she could call any place like this home. . . . 


	4. Chapter Four

AN:  No, *giggle*  I'm not dead.  My computer was just very, very sick!  I finally got the net back and then it decided to crash on me, so I had to go out and buy all new stuff for it.  Yes, I agree.  Gambit is going to get to crap kicked out of him!  Eventually, anyway.  I'm not sure when.  I have writer's block!! *sits down and starts to cry*  And I'm hungry, and you can't think when you're hungry!  Quick like a bunny on crack?  You know, maybe this is just me, but I wouldn't think the bunny would be quick on cocaine….  

**Chapter Four**

No matter how many times Gambit saw Buccaneer Island, he always got chills.  There was only one thing in the world he thought prettier than the Island he called home, but _she_ was mad at him at the moment.

Most of the large island laying before them was made of forests, and like all pirate retreats, it was tropical.  Palm trees lined gentle beaches of white sand, blessed by the sun visible overhead despite the magical fog, which seemed nonexistent from this side of the cloud.  Mountains lined the western fringe, making for beautiful sunsets. There was a tiny port, enough for three ships, which connected to a large castle that seemed hundreds of years old.  Ivy clung to the solid marble walls, and faint wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.  So great were the riches that the _Raven_ had captured or found on the island, that the stained-glass windows were made of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and even black onyx.  The whole island was mesmerizing, and theirs.

Everyone was in awe of it, especially those who hadn't seen it before.  Gambit walked over to Rogue, who was so busy staring she didn't hear him approach her.  With the two gloved fingers of his hand he gently tapped her chin, hanging ajar from the rest of her mouth.  "You trying to catch frogs, chere?"

Overcome by the majesty of the castle, Rogue had briefly forgotten that she was mad at him.  When she remembered, she glared up at him.  "It's tryin' to catch flies, Cajun, not frogs.  Learn yer sayin's right, swamp rat.  People might think yer stupid if ya keep misquotin' stuff."

"Actually," he said, "Dat was on purpose.  Gambit is Cajun, Cajuns were once Frenchman who were kicked out of Canada, de French are called Frogs. Gambit was tryin't to say you were givin' him a suggestion."  As if to reinforce the idea he was trying to get at, Gambit arched a bushy eyebrow.

"Yer disgustin', Cajun," Rogue growled, walking away from him.  She went up to Wolverine, who was standing by himself -as he always was- and smoking a cigar -as he always was.  "Hey, Wolverine, Ah got a question for ya."

Wolverine inhaled deeply.  "Go ahead a shoot, kid.  I ain't got nothin' better to do."

She leaned on the hard railing.  "Well, first ya have ta promise not ta tell anybody.  Ah've been talkin' to Captain Xavier, and he's been helpin' me with the stuff in mah mind.  Ah had them under control, except that they were still screamin' at people who are psychic.  When Ah touch somebody, Ah get their mem'ries too.  Anyway, it's gettin' better and now we're working on tryin' to teach me some control.  It's gonna be dangerous and all, but do ya think y'all could let me touch ya?  Just a little tap, that's it.  That's all I'd be willin' ta risk.  Ah'm gonna try and take yer healing factor.  Well, copy it is more like it.  Yer stronger than Ah am, and ya have that amazin' healin' factor of yours if anythin' goes wrong."

He grunted in reply, then slammed is hand down on the railing.  "Shoot, kiddo.  But only this once.  I don't like feeling as if I'm some rat in a laboratory."  How come he was supposed to be the gruff pirate, but was always friendly to the younger girls?  It had to be their eyes.  All Rogue or Kitty had to do was bat their eyes at him and he'd give them whatever they wanted.  But, hey, this was dangerous!  At least he'd get a rush out of it.

  


Rogue slipped off one of her gloves.  She felt rather like a child doing something she knew was wrong.  Rogue had a feeling that Captain Xavier had meant she should try controlling her powers under his watching eye, not on her own.  

She placed a single finger against the back of Wolverine's hand.  His skin was warm.  The feel and warmth of it was often what she missed the most.  It was amazing how much the world changed perspective when you couldn't touch someone else's skin.  Humans were meant to be tactile creatures.

Feelings and emotions entered her mind, but they were not her own.  She saw sakura blossoms grow and fade, tasted cigars on her tongue, felt the pain of metal claws extending from her skin.  It hurt every time, she knew, but he would never complain.  Rogue sent them to the furthest part of her mind, attempting to ignore them.  It was easier said than done.  They were not her memories to be examined; they were Wolverine's.  Rogue focussed on trying to absorb the healing factor, thinking only of that.

Half a second later, she pulled her finger away.  She felt languid, and the skin that had touched his was heavy as she removed it.  Rogue's skin felt like a magnet pulling away from something it was attracted to.  She shook her head, making sure all the memories and images were tucked away in the part of her mind that was always screaming; the part of her mind that woke her up at night in a cold sweat as she relived the most intense moments of people's lives.

Wolverine looked a little pale.  He glanced at his hand, shrugged, and then took a deep drag of his cigar.  "That's an interesting power you have there, kiddo.  Did it work?"

"Ah can't be sure.  Ah can't be sure until the power manifests itself, and Ah'm not injured right now."  She paused, itching at her hands.  "Yer an interestin' person, Wolverine.  Ah admire you.  Ah'll try ta ignore the things Ah've seen, but Ah can't make any guarantees.  All Ah can say fer sure is that Ah'll keep yer secrets.  Ah'll keep em to the grave!"

He turned to stare at her, but did not manage to smile.  He rubbed her white-streaked head.  "That's all I ask for, Skunky."

She stared at the city, and soon noticed two people running out to meet them.  One was a female with flowing blonde hair wearing a green dress suitable for a princess, the other was a white-haired man dressed like a pirate, but looking incredibly suave.  She was about to ask who they were, but Nightcrawler answered her question when he teleported to the dock to meet them.  The blonde woman jumped into his arms and he spun her around, laughing.

Kurt looked so happy! Rogue felt jealous.  Would she ever run into a lover's arms like that?  She watched as he suddenly dipped her over and kissed her with the passion of months of lonely nights.  Rogue sighed, knowing that type of love was something she could never have.

The ship docked and they began to unload the ship, although there was very little to unload.  The pirates of the _Raven_ all but lived on that boat.  Rogue was introduced to Amanda Sefton, Kurt's girl, and immediately liked her.  She seemed really sweet.  She was also introduced like Erik Magnus, Mystique's husband.  Rogue wasn't too sure about him.  He seemed like a combination of her captain and Xavier, which was just plain creepy.

Mystique ordered everybody to take a day to relax.  The stones would still be hidden wherever they were hidden if everyone chilled out for a day.  The two captains and Erik went off to discuss theology over tea.  Wolverine slunk off, largely unnoticed.  Jean and Cyclops, deserted by their Captain, remained on the ship.  The night watchmen continued to sleep, getting ready for the night time they thrived in.  Storm slipped off the ship when no one saw and stalked Wolverine, planning on teaching him some manners.  Everybody knew why Kurt had picked up Amanda and was quickly teleporting here and there, making an indirect beeline to his bedroom.  

  


Kitty and Peter were going to go swimming, and were trying to get Rogue to join them, when Gambit interrupted them.  "Sorry, Petite.  Gambit and Rogue don't get a vacation, dough Gambit be liking to see you in a bathing suit, Chere."

"Well tough luck because y'ain't gonna see that anytime soon."

"Pity.  Anyway, we need to try and find de scroll.  Say goodbye, Rogue.  We're going spelunking."  He took her hand and led her away from the beach, shoving a knapsack into the other arm.  Though she protested the whole way, he led her to the small jungle of the island.  Pulling a machete out of his knapsack, he began to hack his way from the jungle.  "Gambit discovered de caves when he was a little older dan Kitty.  I never got a chance t'explore them before 'to."

She pulled a leaf out of her thick hair.  "Ah see.  So why are we goin' ta explore a cave of all places, now?  It's all for the scrolls, fine, Ah understand, but how d'ya know they're in there?  How do ya know they're not... in the basement of yer castle or somethin'?"

"Because I can smell the booby traps.  I can smell treasure, and it's from inside the caves!"  He stopped, and Rogue nearly walked into him.  He tied a long rope around a tree, and wrapped it around his waist.  Stepping closer, she could hardly see the whole until she was almost on top of it.  It was a hole so small Colossus could not fit into it, and was stuck in the earth like a giant's cane had made it.  Gambit disturbed her thoughts.  "Are you goin' ta have enough room to fly?"

"Ah sure as hell hope Ah will."  She waited for Gambit to repel down the hole, then followed him.  The cave was darker than she had suspected it would be.  She resisted the urge to hit Gambit for his unprepared plans.  "Ya got anythin' in here ta light the way?"

He shook his head no and grabbed something off the wall.  Though she didn't know it, his eyes were perfectly capable of seeing in the dark.  He placed a small amount of kinetic energy in the torch he'd taken off the wall, and it sparked to life.  Smirking, he pointed to the ceiling.  "Watch out for the spiders."

****

Gambit led her through and tunnel.  Rogue was almost immediately lost.  Whenever she asked him how he knew where she was going, he tapped his nose.  She didn't understand any of it.  Even worse were the booby traps.  After ten minutes they had already discovered false floors, swinging axes, and blow darts.

When they had gotten through every single pirate trick Rogue could imagine, the dark tunnels opened up to a high ceiling cavern.  The floor was tiled, and it led up to an altar.  Sparkling from an unknown light source, stood the ancient scroll.  Rogue was about to start forward, but Gambit stopped her.

"The floor be trapped, just like everythin' else around here."

"Not a problem, swamp rat."  She hovered in the air and picked him up.  Rogue didn't even break a sweat at the extra weight, but she wasn't about to let him know that.  "Ya gotta lose some weight, Gambit!  Ya tryin' ta kill a girl or somethin'?"  He smirked at her, and she considered dropping him.  He deserved it for being so annoying.

She deposited him back on the ground, and then set herself down.  He suddenly grabbed her and pulled her close.  She let out a shout of surprise, and immediately quieted when she felt his breath tickle her ear.  It was killing her not to touch him!

  


"Careful, Chere.  Didn't I tell you dere were traps all over de place?"  His fingers tapped her head, and he tilted his head to try and see her face.  She had such a pretty face.  Rogue looked like his proximity was causing her distress.  "What's de matter, Rogue?"

"Ye're touchin' me again," she pointed out.  It sounded more like an accusation.

"Your point being?"

Rogue leaned against him.  His hard chest was rather comfortable.  His arms wrapped around her, making her feel as bad as it did good.  "It's unfair, swamp rat.  Ah want ta touch ya back.  Ah want ta be able ta flirt back with ya, but Ah can't.  Ah can't even hold yer hand.  Ya don't know what it's like not ta be able ta touch people.  It's a livin' hell, Gambit!  Try it someday.  You'd be surprised at how hard it is not ta touch people."

"But I do know what it's like, Rogue," he whispered.  "I can't touch _you_.  And I want to, Rogue."

She felt her eyes begin to water, and she didn't know why.  Rogue wrote it off as insanity: that she had finally reached the edge and couldn't handle it anymore.  She didn't like being isolated from everybody else in the world.

"I'll give you a deal, Chere," he proposed.  "I'll help you find away to touch people, and when you can, I get a kiss.  That's all Gambit's asking for, Chere.  Just one single kiss.  Until that time, you're not allowed crying.  Not once, Rogue.  You're too strong for that, and you have your whole life ahead of you.  I don't know why, Chere, but I want to be there with you.  Gambit gonna do his best to help you through dis."

Nodding, she shrugged out of his arms and grabbed the scroll.  She seemed cold, but Gambit knew she was trying to focus, trying to find the hope that kept on slipping away from her.  She muttered something about him being a pirate, and he scratched at his unshaven chin.  "Getting dat was easier dan Gambit thought.  What do you say we go swimming, Chere?"

"Ah don't have a bathing suit."

"Who ever said anything about wearing a bathing suit?  Gambit knows a secluded beach. . . ."

Rolling her eyes, she picked him back up, looping his arms under his.  "Y'er such a pervert, Cajun."  Leaning down, her lips barely brushed his cheeks.  She smiled at him.  "Thank you, swamp rat."

****

Mystique was lounging on the beach in a skimpy bathing suit, Magnus at her side, when Rogue and Gambit resurfaced from the jungles of the magical island.  They were still rubbing their eyes, trying to adjust to the bright sunshine when they handed the scroll over to her.  Kitty and Colossus quickly ran in from the waves, eager to see what was happening.  The Captains puzzled over it first.

"Most interesting," Xavier said.  "It's written in an ancient language, but in prose.  There certainly is a lot of it."

Taking the scroll from Xavier, Mystique handed it over to Katherine.  "Here, ghost-girl.  It seems to be written in Greek.  See if you and your proper upbringing can decipher it."

  


Katherine examined it closely.  Puzzled, she sat down on the beach, ancient scroll held in her lap.  "This is remarkable, and confusing."  She looked up at her Captain to explain to conundrum.  "It's written in Greek, but that's not the language.  It's Latin. The Romans... er... adopted the Greek alphabet, and changed it, getting rid of some letters to make room for others.  Alpha became the letter A.  Beta became the letter B.  Their K sound was written as a C, and then the Romans added on a stick years and years later when they needed a K sound.  To find something Latin written in Greek is... well... I'm no historian, but I always thought it was impossible.  Yet, here I am, holding it."

She began to wind up the scroll.  "I'll do the best I can, but I'm going to need Kurt's help with this.  I can decipher the Greek, but I can't translate the Latin.  Not all of it, anyway.  Kurt's an ex-monk, so he's fluent in Latin.  He can translate it when I'm done."

Colossus patted her on the head.  "Katya, wherever did you learn to translate Greek?  You are from the New World, aren't you?"

"Everybody has their secrets, Peter," she smiled.  "Do you want to stay here and swim or come back to the ship with me?"

Mystique ignored the young teenagers and curled a lip at Rogue and Gambit.  "You two look as though you had to fight your way through a giant spider web.  What in the world happened down there?"

"What didn't happen?"  Rogue began to list them off on her fingers. "Bottomless pits, pits with sharp sticks at the bottom, axes, poison darts, flamethrowers, collapsing ceilings, shrinking walls, and yes, we did have to outmanoeuvre a giant spider.  That was an experience I never want to happen again.  There's a whole city underneath there, Mystique!  Your castle is build upon a mountain of ruins!"

Grinning slowly, she slunk back down in her chair.  "I thought so.  This _is_ an enchanted island, Rogue.  These things happen.  I wouldn't expect you to believe them all just yet.  Giant spiders are just the beginning.  For instance, the only enemy Xavier and I have in common is one Robert Drake."  Her eyes peered at her, daring Rogue to call her bluff.  "The champion of the seven seas.  He's brought more pirates to justice then anyone else.  Now he's after our heads.  He's a pirate himself, of course, selling our decapitated skulls to the highest bidder.  But he prefers being called a mercenary."

Rogue frowned and crossed her arms.  Not for the first time, she wondered exactly what it was she had gotten herself into.  "And how is that somethin' that Ah wouldn't believe?  Somebody has to try and keep people safe from murderous, plunderin', thievin', connivin', manipulatin' people like us."

Her grin grew, and her eyes narrowed.  "You wouldn't believe it because he's made of ice, and he never melts.  He comes from a land up north, and rumour has it that he was abducted by the fairies when he was young.  They gave him back and he was a freak, like us.  Angered, made insane by his transformation, he swore to hunt down anyone like him.  Anyone who possessed certain gifts, ones that weren't considered normal.  And anyone who had any relations to the fairies or magic in general."

Xavier took up the story, his voice concerned.  "He doesn't usually bother us, because many people know if they were to put a hit out on the _Cerebro_ their people would revolt.  Mystique, on the other hand, is a different story.  He has two reasons to hate her.  For one, she's a mutant.  A shape shifter.  Secondly, she's related to the fairies."

"Because of this island, you mean?" Rogue inquired when Xavier's speech slowed.

  


The shape shifter laughed.  "Captain Drake come after me because I own an island?  Hardly!  Because who most of my people are, Dear!  Amanda Sefton is also called Magicienne.  Drake nearly killed her once, so now I protect her here.  The Cajun here has a special affinity for stealing magical items, which Drake wants to destroy and would gladly torture Gambit in order to get his icy hands on them.  More than anything, he wants to get his hands on Kurt and myself."

"Why?  Why you two?"

Mystique's eyes opened again, her voice bitter.  "I have lived many lives.  Some I am proud of, some I am not.  I die, and I am reborn from my own ashes only to create a new face and live all over again.  In one life time, I brought down an entire way of life. Accidentally, I assure you.  I was called Morgan in that lifetime.  Morgana Le Fay, to be precise."

"But at least you at one good thing out of that life," a German voice said.  Rogue and Gambit whipped around to see Kurt hanging upside down from a tree.  He smiled at them and waved.  "I see you two made it out of the caverns safe and sound.  Find anything interesting, mein freunds?"

The Captain of the _Raven_ took a sip of her drink.  "Kurt! Glad to see you again.  I thought we'd have to drag you kicking and screaming out of your room.  Kitty's on the _Cerebro_trying to do some translating.  She's going to need your help with the Latin."

"Ach. Mine work is never done."  His broad smile told them he was only joking.  Waving a three-fingered hand at Rogue, he winked.  "Don't let her stories go to your head.  Captain Mystique likes to joke around a lot.  See you all at dinner tonight!"

Gambit reached out and took Rogue's gloved hand.  The grin on his face made Rogue forget the gloominess of the cavern system.  "Nightcrawler's right.  We're on vacation for the brief time we're here."  He dragged her away from the Captains.  She went without protest, curious to see where they were going.  "We need to go have some fun."

"Fun, Cajun?  Somehow, Ah doubt we have the same views on what's fun."

"Oh, Gambit doubts that, Chere."  His grin turned reckless and he scooped her up without warning.  

Then he threw her into the ocean.

And laughed.

Strangely, so did she.


	5. Chapter Five

AN: Yeah!  An update! Argh!  You wouldn't believe the size of the writer's block I've had.  And, sadly, it isn't really gone.  Please, give me ideas!  What do you want to see here to build the Rogue/Gambit relationship?  I was thinking they go on a date so Gambit can prove he can be a gentleman.  Do y'all like the sound of that?  Eep!  I'm starting to talk like Rogue! *giggles*  A spin-off, hm?  *looks at her pile of homework*  Sorry, Steahl, but I've got WAY too much work to write another long fic like this.  My head will explode if I take on too much.  Trust me.  This has happened before.  And I would have liked to have made the Indy scene a little bit longer, but I need to have something to save for the last chapter when they go get the stones, right?  Otherwise it'll all be the same thing!  

            Thank you so much for all the great reviews!  ^_^  They made me feel loved, even if my muse for this story did leave me.  Enjoy, and drop me a line!

**Chapter Five**

"'From the lion to the hell hound,

His fame was spread near and far.

Now he guards heavenly gates,

From those who share blood with his mother.

His pillars stand tall for evermore, 

And are the doors to the treasure.'"

Kitty put the scroll down on the table, making a rest for her chin on her hands.  "That's the first stanza.  We found the doors.  Kind of.  There are three stanzas in total, and each of them is a riddle.  If we figure them all out, we can use triangulation to determine the location of these magical talismans."

Charles tapped his fingers on his folded knees.  The bald man sighed.  "I'm afraid that well upbringing and education may not be the best type of help for riddles such as these.  Who is it that guards the gates of Heaven? St. Peter?  Or is it St. Paul?"

Across the table from him, the female captain smiled ferally.  She leaned on the wooden surface, her slender fingers lighting a cigarette.  Her whole attitude reeked of smugness.  "Well, Charles, if we don't need the likes of your education, why don't you and your troops set sail?  Us not so intelligent people can figure out the rest of this information."

"This is supposed to be a partnership," Storm wisely reminded Mystique in her powerful voice.  "Information needs to be shared equally, between both parties."

"You are indeed correct," Captain Xavier agreed.  "Wolverine, you know this harbour perfectly, please, guide us out.  Colossus, you stay here, you too, Storm.  I will go upstairs with Scott and over see that everything runs smoothly.  Kurt, if you wouldn't mind taking over the crow's nest, that would be greatly appreciated.  I'm sure Katherine is able to take care of the scroll.  Rogue, would you like to come up top with us so that you can see how things are done?"

She shook her head no, but changed it to a nod when Mystique glared at her pointedly.  When everyone had left, Mystique took a deep drag from her cigarette and unfolded a world map.

"People think too linearly.  We're talking about the ancient civilizations, after all.  We need to think like an ancient Greek.  In the time this was probably written in, they didn't have Charles' Christian Saints.  Who did the ancient people consider the guard of the gates of heaven?"

"That depends on what Heaven you mean.  Most people have different types of heaven," Peter pointed out.  "In particular, the Greeks and Romans had a place for dead soldiers, a hell, and Elysium for good souls.  I suppose Elysium might be what they mean by 'heaven', but I've never heard stories of a guardian for Elysium.  Not in Greek mythology, anyway.  In Roman myths, I seem to remember Saturn being the guardian of Elysium."

Everyone stared at him, except for Kitty, who was beaming at him.  The large man went a little red.  "I used to tell my little sister stories I heard in my travels for bedtime stories."

Gambit made a note to ask the Russian why he had said 'used to' at a more appropriate point in time.  "What about de Gods, Peter?  Where did dey go when dey died?"

He frowned, trying to remember.  "I don't remember any stories about Gods dying.  Heroes used to be put in the sky, as stars, to be near the Gods though, because. . . ."

  


"The sky as in the big blue thing that changes hues?" Mystique demanded, eyes narrowing.  She let her hand wander over the map.  "As in the thing that can _also_ be referred to as the heavens?  Tell me, tin man, who guards the sky?"

"Well, I suppose Hercules does.  He's also married. . . ."  He stopped talking, recalling all the stories he had heard as a sailor, before he had become a pirate.  "He had twelve labours.  The first was to kill the Nemean Lion, the last was to capture Cerberus.  That's the lion and the hound.  And he created the pillars of Hercules.  One of them was at Gibraltar.  Here."  He tapped the map, at the opening of the Mediterranean Sea.

"But the part about him guarding gates from those with the blood of his mother?  How does that fit in?"  Storm wondered out loud.

Katherine smiled, remembering the stories she herself had heard when she was young.  "Hercules' mother was A...Alcymene or something, and was a mortal.  When Hercules died, he became immortal, because he was half-god.  No mortal can enter the sky.  But dead heroes could."

Extinguishing her retired cigarette, Mystique pulled out a quill from a nearby desk and circled the Straight of Gibraltar.  "Wonderful.  We have the first riddle completed.  Kitty, what's next?"

"'In a city of over a ten thousand people,

With the science and knowledge of the Gods,

Stands the god of human craftsmanship.

Looking over the three bays,

It is a light for all to see.'"

Gambit whistled.  "An ancient city dat had over den dousand people?"

Storm rolled her eyes.  "Ignorance.  Gambit, many old cities had over ten thousand citizens.  In fact, many researchers believe some cities, such as in China or Central America, may have held over a million people.  Large numbers, large cities, are not strictly present conditions.  But there is only one city I know of that had three bays, a large population, and anything remotely close to science or knowledge that could be considered on par with gods, and that is Alexandria."

"And dis work of craftsmanship?  What is dat?  Enlighten Gambit, oh wise one."

"They built a lighthouse, called Pharos.  It stood over 80 feet high, made of reflective limestone.  Alexandria is a port city.  In the old times, it had a large Greek population, when it was under Roman control.  Pharos became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and it sunk into the sea in a year of... of a great earthquake, I believe."

Mystique circled Alexandria, while Kitty recited the third stanza.  She went a bit pink.  "Actually, this one's not so much a riddle as a math problem.  Kurt and I already worked it out.  It was a word problem to determine longitude and latitude.  The third spot doesn't have a riddle, it's just a place.  It's right here."  She pointed to a spot on the map, around the Caspian Sea.  

Captain Raven drew all the circles together with a straightedge.  The lines all conjoined in Greece.

"Surprise, surprise," Raven muttered.  She circled Greece three times with the red ink.  "I wish we could be more accurate than this.  It's the first clue that throws off the map.  Which pillar are we supposed to navigate by?  Or is it just between the two of them?  Colossus, come with me.  I'm going to relieve Wolverine so he can study the map.  Perhaps he might remember something helpful."

  


"That man could never be helpful," Storm proudly retorted.  "I strongly suggest you give it to Captain Xavier.  Perhaps some of his books in his captain's chambers might hold some type of information.  These stones or talismans or whatever they are, they could be hidden anywhere.  A cave. . . ."

"The Parthenon," Kitty added, trying to be helpful.  She turned in her chair to look at Raven.  "Captain Mystique, if it's not too much trouble, could you please ask Captain Xavier if I could look at the scrolls he found that made him want to go on this quest?  There may be something there he neglected, something about what these scrolls are or how to use them, hopefully, where they are."

She nodded, and Kitty blushed when Peter smiled at her.  Katherine turned back to Gambit, her hazel eyes curious.  "Was there anything else you guys saw when you went down into the caverns under the castle?"

"Besides spiders and booby traps? _ Non._  _Pardonez__ moi_, but dere was nothing else down dere.  You could perhaps try asking Rogue if she saw anything."

'Rogue.'  Now there was a thought he could do without.  She was like a Siren, completely hypnotizing him. He had known her for three days, and he couldn't stop thinking about her.  Of course, it might have something to do with the fact that they had to live together.  Every time he saw her, he wanted to reach out and hold her hand, stroke her hair, hold her against him.  More so, he wanted to kiss her.  Finally, he had met someone he couldn't have, and it was driving him crazy!  Everything he was doing, everything he thought, it was all for her.  

And that was why he had made her the promise.  That he would find a way to cage her powers all for one single kiss.  He just needed to know that he could have her.  He needed to know that he was in control of himself.  He needed to know if these feelings were mere insanity, or if they might actually be real. . . . 

It wasn't like anything he'd felt before.  Wanting, desire, lust even, these were all familiar to Gambit.  A Cajun with a dangerous profession?  Girls practically flung themselves at him when they heard his accent and he flattered them with a bit of the old Louisiana charm.  But this was much more than that.  As much as he wanted to touch Rogue, he liked not touching her too.  He liked just being around her.  Hell, he even liked to argue with her!  

'The girl could run circles around Mystique, with the right incentive,' he absentmindedly thought.  He smirked.  'Now that's something I'd love to see.'

****

"Captain?"  The small man nervously approached his steely eyed commander, and fell to the floor when Captain Drake turned his way.  The man was trembling with fear.  No one ever dared to say it out loud, but the captains of the Imperial Navies were more cutthroat than the so-called pirates they chased after!  He stuttered.  "S-Sir, we can find no trace of the _Cerebro_.  They got away clean, Captain.  B-B-But, sir, the monk has kindly lent us a copy of the manuscript they took from Lord Circe's treasury!"

He lowered the whip he held in his hand.  "Get up, fool!  Why are you grovelling?  I'm not going to hurt you!  Get back to work, you peasant scum!"  The crewman scrambled off and Bobby Drake put the whip back in his belt, right beside the gun he kept hidden underneath his thick, red fabric belt. 

  


Glancing at his crewman, he sneered.  He knew what they were all thinking.  Robert Drake, the Illustrious Captain of the Northern Imperial Army, looked more like a pirate than the ones they had encountered.  Like that Scott Summers fellow, the one who couldn't put up a fight without his special spectacles.  He looked more like a noble than Robert did.  Especially with the superior look he often wore.

He glanced at his fellow commanding officers.  There were only two other ones.  Cable and Bishop.  Both of them were good men, but with their matching tattoos, some said they looked even less noble than Bobby.  

Bobby didn't care.  The fact was, they hated mutants as much as he did, even though they were mutants themselves.  They had told him very little about why they hated mutants, but he hadn't asked a lot of questions.  The only question people had to answer to become a member of his crew was: Do you want to kill a mutant?

A dangerous question, given that his own genetic abnormalities allowed him to become a man of ice, hence his other name.  Iceman.  Bobby Drake, Captain of the Northern Imperial Army, the Iceman who ruled with an Iron Fist.

Only a few hours later, the manuscripts were brought to him.  He had barely a glance at them before Bishop and Cable were peering over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse.  Bishop inhaled sharply.  "The ancient scrolls!  I keep forgetting they still exist in this time!"  Cable elbowed him to be quiet, but it was too late.

Sitting down in his seat, Captain Drake folded his hands over his desk.  "Alright, you two.  The jig's up.  I want to know why you two were both so eager to join my crew, and I want to know why right now."

"Sir...."

"NOW Cable!  I shouldn't have to repeat myself!  Do you two understand what I am _telling_ you to do?!  I demand answers!"

They both sighed, glanced at each other, and sat.  Bishop began.  "You already know we're both mutants.  What you don't know is that we're from the future.  We come from a time when travelling through time is a relatively easy thing to do, but it's heavily restricted.  We're like you, Drake.  We're... Captains ourselves.  It is our job to regulate the time line, to make sure that people don't try and change the past.  Or the future."

"The future -_our_ future- is what we're trying to protect right now," Cable continued.  The white-haired mutant stared out the window to the sea beyond.  "Out there is the pirate known as Gambit, although his birth name was Remy LeBeau.  His talent his harnessing kinetic energy, but he has another talent, one that comes from being the heir to a long line of thieves.  He's the master thief.  Unstopable.  Our police have been trying to figure out how he stole what he already has stolen for decades, without any luck at all."

"Right now, they have a copy of those scrolls, and are using them to discover the Treasure of the Gods.  Legend has it that everyone gets their own share, but it's because of Gambit that they get there in the first place.  He's the one who leads them through all the traps to get to the treasure."

"Our mission is to eliminate him, by any means necessary."  Cable ruthlessly squeezed his hands.  "Bishop and I don't agree on a lot of things, but this is one thing we do agree on.  Remy LeBeau must be stopped, at any cost!  We cannot allow him to live!"

Drake leaned back in his chair.  "You know, I'd accuse you of lying, if I thought I'd be right.  Frankly, what shouldn't I expect in this day in age?"  He unfolded his hands and created a tiny ice sculpture in one before he crushed it, disgusted at himself.  "Indeed.  Why should someone like me dictate what's possible and what isn't?  But if this _is_ true, then wouldn't this create a type of paradox?  What stops you from not killing him, which means he never does what makes you kill him and.... this is confusing, you must admit."

  


"The answer to that is technicalities we can't release.  People from the past aren't supposed to know anything from the future," Cable growled.

"But we thought it was necessary to tell you," Bishop said.  "Otherwise you could endanger the mission.  And we might as well tell you everything.  If we break one rule, we might as well break the rest of them.

"Gambit's children will get stronger and smarter with each generation.  By our time, they are undetectable.  The genes which cause these heightened senses or sixth sense or whatever you want to call it, make finding Gambit's future relatives impossible.  This wouldn't be so much of a problem, except one of them is slightly crazy.  She's the dangerous one.  By killing Gambit, we ensure that he'll never have any kids."

Cable continued.  "More so, it's what she has that makes it so dangerous.  The pirates you're searching for passed down the Treasure of the Gods to their children.  This isn't really a problem, as most of the treasure work good rather than evil.  It's no problem to us if someone wants to be a healer, or someone wants to talk to plants.  But it's two of them that are the problem.  One went missing, and has never been found.  It's the Ring of Hades.  A silver band with a black onyx. Whoever wears the ring dies.  The only person immune to this affect, is someone who is already dead.  Then it brings the person back to life."

The Captain scratched his brown hair.  "But.... if...."

"What my friend forgot to mention is that the ring cannot bring back somebody who died from the ring.  Also, the person who wears the ring might not be the same after they come back to life.  Even in my time, when we can walk through the decades inhibited, we dare not mess with the afterlife."

"Right," Cable gruffly agreed.  "The other item is the one currently in possession of Rogue, Gambit's great-insert some crazy number here- granddaughter.  The legends of your time say that there were only twelve gifts.  They were actually thirteen artifacts, because Hades, the God of the Underworld, gave two gifts.  The second gift he gave was the Ring, as a kind of practical joke.  The greedy would not be able to enjoy their gifts long, you see.  The real gift he gave was the Crown of Hades.  Personally, I think this was the practical joke gift. The person who wears the crown becomes invisible and indestructible."

"So you're saying you have an invisible, indestructible, undetectable thief wandering around in the future?"

Cable frowned bitterly.  "Actually, technically, because they remained in contact, there was some... inter-breeding between the pirates.  She also has the powers of weather control, phasing, healing. . . .  Basically, any of the powers these guys have, she has."

"And the only way of getting rid of her. . . ."

"Is to kill Gambit immediately."

The young Captain smirked.  "You two are both delusional.  By eliminating the pirate called Gambit, you will be destroying your Rogue, but at the same time, condemning hundreds -if not thousands- of people to death.  Without our wanted thief, the Treasure will never be found, and Xavier will never gain the power to heal.  All the people he saved will die."

  


Bishop bitterly frowned, more of a sneer than a sad look.  "I'm well aware of that.  But we have to keep this type of power out of the hands of those pirates!  That kind of power cannot be allowed to become part of society!  There's a reason why it was buried for centuries.  It was too much power for people to handle.  The Gods anticipated it would be found at a time when human beings were able to actually control that type of power.  Human beings will never be able to control _real_ power!  It's our human folly that does us in at the end!  So that's why we're agreed.  

"My companion Cable sees everything in black and white, in good and evil, and sometimes the innocent must be sacrificed to stop the evil.  I see this situation as unfortunate, but the course of action is clear to me too.  That type of power cannot be set free!"


	6. Chapter Six

AN: Hurrah for writing this at 4:30 in the morning on three hours of sleep!  See?  Your great reviews do stuff!!   Mainly me missing sleep, but that still counts as motivation!  

Oh yeah, and I mention something about cigarettes in here.  Smoking is bad for your health, and it's your own personal decision as to whether or not you want to do it.  I'm not trying to promote it, it's just that we can't have the hero of the story with bad breath, now can we? ^_^ Really, when I say that, I'm just making an ant out of a mole hill.  That whole statement is only there to keep people from telling me that smoking does cause bad breath and such, Yes.  I know.  But would you like to kiss a Gambit who smelled of smoke? ...Okay, kissing being beside the point....

This is me being quick like a bunny on crack.  And I love plot complications.  Or coagulations, as one of my fellow X-Men obsessed friends say.  I love writing Gambit's thoughts on Rogue.  Why?  Because we all know how much he loves her, but we usually don't get to read how much he does.  Yes.  I'm beginning to see that now.  Now all I have to do is put this much effort in my own stories.  My poor, poor neglected stories….  Caliente, you're reading my thoughts, but I still have a sly trick or two up my sleeve to keep y'all guessing!  Can't right about pirates and thieves if you can't think like one, I always say.  And just to clear things up: it's a paradox.  If they kill Gambit, they stop Rogue from being born, which means they'll have no reason to come to the past and kill Gambit.  Did I explain it better?

Drop a review and enjoy! ^_^

**Chapter Six**

Wolverine was driving the ship.  They had made it out of the island's fog, and he had pointed them into the win, letting the power of the sea take them where it would.  "Damn ship," he grumbled. "It's completely different to drive this here ship then it is to steer the _Raven_.  You should get your man Peter up here, Chuck.  He'd be more help to you then I would right now.  And, personally, I could use a vacation."

"Nonsense, Wolverine.  You're doing a perfectly fine job," the male captain said.  Gazing out over the ocean far below them, he could almost see their destination creeping above the horizon.  Even if they didn't know where they were going.

The other crewmen arrived from below deck, and Rogue felt her heart soften when she saw Gambit.  What was it about him that made her stomach feel warm and fuzzy when he was around?  His accent drove her nuts: who the hell spoke in third person anyway?  And what was with his eyes?  Were they some part of his mutant power too?  

'Bah!  Why should I care about how ambit makes me feel?  And 'warm and fuzzy'?  Who describes their stomachs as bein' warm an' fuzzy?  What tha hell am I?  Some type of Georgian peach?'

Absolved in her own thoughts and attempt to deter herself from thinking of Gambit, Rogue didn't se Colossus come up behind her.  The large Russian tousled her hair affectionately, after seeing her unhappy face.  Rogue jumped away faster than one would have though humanly possible.  "Don't!"

But it was too late.  The contact had only been brief, but Peter had felt like he'd been beaten by Omega Red all over again.  His hand still had a funny feeling to it, as if it was waking up from a long sleep.  He recovered quickly, and forced himself to smile at the now worried looking girl.  "You pack quite a punch, Rogue."  Thinking of how he felt, his own face became just as anxious.  "I did not hurt you at all, did I?"

"No... No," she repeated, forcing herself to be strong.  "It takes a lot ta hurt me, Peter.  A lot.  It's just... well, it's a lot of things." She tried to change the topic by asking how the meeting went.

"It was productive.  We know the country where the gems are located," Katherine said, as if appearing out of nowhere.  Which she usually did.  "It should have been pretty obvious, really."

  


Mystique rolled her eyes, disgusted by the quick sense of comraderie her crew had created.  Damn it, they were supposed to be enemies after this mission was over!  How could they do that if Peter was playing big brother to everyone, if Kitty was making doe-eyes, or the like?  'At least,' she satisfactorily thought, 'I know that we'll never make friends with the likes of Jean or Scott. They're too high and mighty for the likes of us.  Storm too.  A powerful person, I'll gladly be the first to admit, but completely and utterly. . . .'

Then she saw the way Wolverine was staring at the white-haired woman.  It was the same way Erik often looked at her.  As he was hypnotized with the idea that someone like her could weald so much power.  

'Aw, hell!'

Peter was not the only one who noticed Rogue's tense face.  He came up behind her much the same way Colossus had, only he remembered that he couldn't even risk touching her.  God, she was going to drive him insane!  His large hands settled on her shoulders, his fingers rubbing against her clothes as he rubbed her tense muscles.  

"Calm down, _Chere_.  He didn't mean it, and no harm was done."

Rogue wanted to melt into his arms.  To feel the warmth around her torso, and to be completely and utterly surrounded by him.  His hands were gentle against her sore back, but she could feel their strength all the same.  She breathed in deeply.  He was behind her, but she could still smell him.  His clothes had a faint tinge of his cigarettes, but for all she had heard about them, his breath certainly didn't reek.  Rogue could smell other people on him, probably from wearing that jacket all the time and from living in a ship with the same people for most of his adolescence.

'There's no way I could smell. . . .'  She glanced at Wolverine.  'Damn.  I wanted just to get his healing factor, but it looks like I got a lot more than a bargained for.'  Pictures tried to break lose in her head, images of sharp objects and boiling liquids.  She shook her head to clear them away, and once more her brain was hers again.  But for who knew how long, she couldn't say.  'I got a lot more than I bargained for.'

He saw her shook her head. Gambit stopped his massage, but kept his hands on her shoulders.  If this was the only way they could touch, then he'd do it as often as he could!  "What's da matter, Rogue?  You don't like?"

"Er... No, Ah don't mind it all, Gambit.  Thanks a lot, actually.  Ah needed that..  I just had some things in my head that I. . . ."  She didn't finish her sentence, out immediately anyway.  The words tumbled out long after her brain had left the conversation.  She was getting better at repressing the memories of the people she touched, but she still didn't have it under control.

Colossus' memories she had absorbed from the brief touches slammed into her senses.  There were only three, three that never left from the top of his mind.  She saw a little girl, held in hands that looked massive when compared to her tiny frame.  Her blonde hair shimmered, and her tears moved so slowly down her cheeks that they seemed to freeze in the cold Russian air.  Rogue knew who it was, the name rolling off the memory like a hymn.  Illyana.  She'd been beaten by some demon-mutant named Omega Red.

The name made Rogue's vision turn red with Peter's anger, but she didn't know why.  Then the second memory reared up. She saw the hated mutant towering above her.  Her whole body felt like a giant bruise.  She tasted blood on her lips...  'No, on _his_ lips.'

He had beaten him.  And badly.  He still hadn't discovered his mutant powers yet, otherwise things may have turned out differently.

  


She was glad when the next memory popped up.  The pain faded away, but she wanted to know more.  How had he gotten away?  What happened to his sister?  When had his mutant powers kicked in?  She might have considered asking Colossus, but what would she say?  'I saw your memories when you touched me and I want you to fill in the blanks for me?'  She'd sound like nothing but a gossip!

She managed to shove the third memory away, and realized gambit was talking to her.  "Chere?  Are you all right?"

"Ah'm fine Cajun.  Ah just have a bit of a headache, s'all!" she snapped, feeling a bit perturbed.  She glanced at Colossus as he relieved Wolverine so the short man could go talk to Mystique.  No wonder he was such a big guy, now, getting beaten to within an inch of his life.  She understood a bit about Colossus now, and I bit about herself too.  She was just like him, they all were.  She didn't exactly enjoy feeling weak either

Nobody did.

He didn't believe her.  "Chere. . . ."  His tone warned her that he knew she was lying.

"Ah said Ah'm all right, Gambit!  Will ya stop tryin' to pressure me into tellin' ya things Ah don't wanna say?"  In her feisty mood, she snuck out of his grasp, giving him a light nudge.  Except that she hadn't realized she'd stolen Colossus' strength.  Her "nudge" sent Gambit flying into the wall behind him.  He wasn't very badly hurt, used to taking much heavier hits, but the wind was knocked out of him.  They were just both lucky he hadn't been sent overboard.

Rogue felt like all the eyes on the ship were staring at her.  Even though they weren't.  Wolverine had disappeared with Mystique, Peter was driving the ship, and Kitty had disappeared with Xavier to look at the scrolls he'd found.  The only people who had seen her and though it odd was Scott.  Storm had seen it too, but she thought Rogue had done well, pushing away someone as lecherous as Gambit.

Floating in the air a second, she flew below deck, leaving Gambit to wonder whether or not he actually had been right in pestering her.

****

Wolverine puffed of his cigar.  "Greece, huh?"  He remembered the place well. It was really pretty.  And good food, too.  Nice and warm, and filled with history.  Sadly, none of it belonged to him though.  The memories he had made there, he wanted to get rid of.

Too bad that didn't ever happen.  

Mystique swung her legs over the desk seductively.  She wasn't trying to seduce Wolverine, it was just who she was.  And she had lasted just as long as he had, even though history was usually less kind to the female sex.  He remembered the first time he had seen her.  It was in Rome, after he had gotten back from taking care of some trouble in Greece, the Empire's latest acquisition.  The Empire had been well on its way to controlling the entire Sea. . . .

He let his breath out, allowing the memories to fade away with the smoke.  That wasn't important now.  His voice was gruff with the thought of thinks he didn't want to hold in any longer.  "These trinkets we're after, they're supposed to belong to the Gods, right?"

She nodded.  "Personally, I was thinking they might be in the... what's it called?  The monument for Zeus, one of the wonders of the ancient world.  But that's been ransacked repeatedly, and was destroyed a long time ago in a magnificent storm."

  


"I'd agree with you, if it was only for Zeus.  But there are the other eleven gods to think about.  Naw, Raven.  Think bigger than that.  The gems will be where the Gods could always have them near.  They're at Mount Olympus, the ancient home of the Gods.  That is, there'll be there if they actually exist."

She laughed.  "Trust me, Wolfie.  These things actually exist.  This isn't the first story I heard about them, nor the first story I've heard about a vast treasure somewhere in Greece.  Whether they exist or not isn't the question.  It's whether or not they actually work.  We're mutants, why can't there be special powers in something as overlooked as gemstones?"

"Merlin did it," he pointed out.  "But I agree with ya.  I'll believe it when I see it."

Her laughter turned into a dry chuckle.  "Isn't it odd, Wolverine?  We're the oldest people on the ship.  We should believe that anything is possible, but instead we're the cynics.  Whereas people like Katherine believes anything she can logically work out or can have faith in, Peter believes anything that can fit into his usually narrow view of the world, and Rogue _has to believe, because otherwise. . . ."_

"Because otherwise she's dead," he agreed.

They were both silent.  Mystique slowly got off the desk, a little less cocky and prideful as she normally was.  Wolverine knew the old Mystique would be back the moment anybody else walked in through that door.  She unrolled the map they had been using for triangulation.  "So, the next question is: do you know where Olympus is still?"

"Sure do.  It's a good thing this here ship flies, otherwise it'd be a long way to the top."

****

Rogue hid out in her rooms for a little while.  She was starting to think about coming out -seeing as how it wasn't really very adult in hide out in her rooms sulking- when someone knocked on the door.  She opened it and found herself staring at the best-looking man she had ever seen.  'I thought Gambit was good looking!  Holy. . . .'

His had blonde that framed his face, making him look like Apollo.  He looked a little sleepy, but still gave her a charming smile.  She felt herself blush and return his gaze.  Behind him, she saw glorious wings wrapped up.  She looked again at his smile.  It was charming, the kind that would make any girl feel like a princess, but Rogue had seen that type of smile before.  She'd seen it on all the faces of the rich boys at home.

"What's someone like you doin' bein' a pirate?" she questioned him.

"I could ask the same to you.  You may look like a pirate, and you may sound like one, but deep down you were bred to be a lady, and that's what I see.  I see the lady."  He caught her hesitant expression. "Don't worry, Rogue.  I don't mean any offence.  I already have a lady, if that's what you're thinking."  He gave a pleasant laugh at the thought of his heart's desire.  "I think you'd like her.  She's quite a little hellion, like you, and a thief to boot.  Well, a slightly reformed thief."

"Only slightly reformed?"  She arched her eyebrow, thinking that he had something to do with her "reforming".

"I love my lady Psylocke for who she is, and a thief is part of what makes Psylocke herself.  I had nothing to do with her decision to steal and give to the poor."

"She sounds like she'd fit in well on the _Cerebro.  Why isn't she here?"_

"Betsy doesn't like to mix business and pleasure.  Anyway, I'm just off to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, and then I'm going on duty soon.  The Cajun, I forget his name, asked me to give this to you." He handed her a piece of paper, and then gave a tiny salute.  "See you later."

  


She shut the door before opening the envelope.  Gambit's writing was rather messy, but it was still legible.

"I wanted to get you some flowers, but they didn't have any, and I couldn't convince Peter to land the ship.  But at least the thought was there.  Let me treat you to dinner when we reach our destination. Love, Gambit."

She didn't have much time to think about how he had signed the brief letter when somebody rapped on the door again.  She safely put the letter away in a dresser drawer before she answered the door.  This time it was Ororo.

"You're the new cook on _The Raven_, aren't you?  Mystique asked you to help me in the kitchen today, so that I can show you how everything works.  Please, follow me."  The older lady swept down the hallway, expecting Rogue to follow her.

Sighing, she did so.  She knew that Storm wasn't trying to seem rude or anything, she just believed in harsh love.  Rogue understood that.  Her mother had been much the same way.  She just hoped that she could keep her new found powers of strength under control.

On the floor above them, the senior staff members were having a meeting.  "How long will it take us to reach Greece?" Mystique asked.

Cyclops did the calculations in his head.  It was just bossing other people around that made him so good for his right-hand man job.  "About two weeks.  We might be able to make it in half that time, but that would involve pushing Jean, Storm, and the Captain to their limits.  We shouldn't do that, just in case we need them for later on."

"It's good too know you think of your captain and your fiancé as commodities, Scott," Xavier said without any trace of his obvious sarcasm.  The other man looked rather ashamed.

'Brown noser,' Gambit harshly thought.  He turned to his own captain. "It's a good t'ing we refuelled at de island.  As long as Gambit and _mes__ amis don't run into any unexpected company, we should be fine."_

Scott groaned.  "Don't you know you're never supposed to say that?"


	7. Chapter Seven

AN: Just remember to step around the plotholes.  And seeing as how this is AU, a few changes. 1) Rogue doesn't lose her (gained) powers.  If she touches someone long enough to absorb their powers, she gets to keep them until the end of time.  Secondly, I believe it's only plastic that keep her powers in, but... I mean, where's the fun in that??

Happy Thanksgiving for Canadians!  And happy turkey day for anyone else!  Let's do away with thanksgiving, let's just have 'Happy Turkey/Soykey Day!' 

Ishandahalf, I _think_ there's more fluff.  It's debateable.  Basically because can't remember.  I have the memory span of a goldfish. Yumiko, you know he's going to fix it somehow.  Remy can't let a girl like Rogue out of his grip!  Roguechere: so will I.  I have the flying, the stripe, she's got the strength, is there any other permanent powers in the comics I need to give her?  Why does Gambit dislike Storm, Caliente?  Hm.  Dunno!  Yeah, wasn't it awesome how in the other…. Not going to ruin for people!  Smm16, I think everybody is!  I know I am if I think about it for too long, but hopefully it'll all make sense by the epilogue.  (I love my epilogues!)  And true to the characters?  I think it's debateable!  I just got comics with Kitty.  ^_^  I love Kitty.  I'm working out the details of the dinner now, although  it's not for two chapters, but it's soooo tedious!  ^_^  I don't want to make it boring, and why I try to write a conversation, all I can think of is dirty things coming out of Gambit's mouth! 

So, until then, here's another chapter, and gimme some suggestions for what should happen during dinner.  (Cuz it's going to by a quadruple date! ^_^ Rogue/Gambit, Kitty/Peter, Scott/Jean, Logan/Storm, which you'd think would make it more interesting, but I can't have them bash Cyke all dinner!)

**Chapter Seven**

Trouble came a week into their journey.  Rogue was with Captain Xavier, again working on controlling her powers.

"You've made astonishing progress, Rogue," he said.  Rogue went red with pride, when the ship suddenly rocked.  "What in the world was that?"  They went outside, and caught the acrid scent of warfare.

Nightcrawler bamfed down from the crow's nest, looking more than just a little stressed.  Some his fur stood on it, reminding Rogue of a cat.  "Captain!  Ve're under attack!  It's Captain Drake!  He's firing at us!  Zank God zis ship is flying!"  His accent thickened with his hurried speech.  "Ozervise ve vould have been shot down already!  Luckily, due to ze angle of trajectory, he's only just missing us!"

Captain Xavier nodded.  "All hands to battle stations!  All hands on deck!"  Rogue was already at his side, and the others were running from downstairs like rats from a sinking ship.  "Peter, do your best to try and keep us steady.  Same with you, Jean.  Storm, please, use your powers to hurry us along.  Hopefully moving fast will keep him changing his cannons so he won't get a chance to fire another shot." 

His words came too late.  A bang came from below them, a cannonball soaring overhead and tearing through one of the sails, leaving a gaping hole.  Xavier sent out his orders faster, while Storm went to work.  "Rogue, Wolverine, and Gambit, load our cannons, but don't fire back yet.  Scott, get the right angles.  I don't want to ship their sink, just cripple them.  Kitty, I have a special order for you.  If they try to fire again and it looks like it's going to hit us, I want you to put all your energy into trying to phase this ship, and everyone on it, obviously."

Kitty felt as if he had asked her to phase the whole world.  She sputtered.  "Captain Xavier, I... I don't know if I can do that."

"I know, but I, and others here, believe you can do it.  All I can ask is that you try."  When Katherine nodded, he motioned for Kurt to come down.  He quickly teleported down to the deck, scooped Kitty up in his furry arms, and teleported her up to the crow's nest with him.   She would have a better angle from there.

A wind picked up, courtesy of Storm.  It made Mystique look all the more seductive, the wind ruffling her clothes and hair.  She smiled somewhat cruelly, although on a face as deadly as hers, any smile would look that way.  "You're a bit slow to dish out orders, Charles.  My crew would know exactly what to do, if they were on my ship.  But I agree with your decision.  Although why you want Rogue to man the cannonballs, I don't know."

"She's picked up Colossus' super strength.  It's a good place for her to use it."  As if she had heard him, Rogue single handedly loaded the cannon.  Logan and Gambit were still struggling with theirs.  "Did you have something else in mind?"

"Yes.  Rogue has Captain material.  She would do well to learn how to be a position.  I would have preferred keeping her by my side for a little while."

  


"Come now, Raven.  A true Captain needs to be able to work all the positions on a ship.  They cannot be hesitant to work even the lowliest position, like cleaning the latrine.  You taught me that, many years ago.  I'm surprised you don't remember."

"I do remember."

Scott hesitantly stepped forward, afraid Mystique was going to bite his head off.  "Captains?  I have the trajectory pointed to their main mast, although it won't do much good.  Storm has already pushed us out of their range.  With your permission, I'll have Gambit and Rogue bring out the other mast, so that Jean can patch this one up."

Charles was about to answer him, but Raven's hand settled on his shoulder.  He heard her think out loud for once, the thought for him to silently see.  'Let me take this one.'

The female captain knew that having Gambit and Rogue work together was not a good idea at this point.  Something, some unspoken attraction or promise, had been made between them, and now whenever they were alone together, they always seemed to be deep in discussion.  What they talked about, she didn't know, all she knew was that it was good on Gambit's behalf.  He hadn't been into the booze once since Rogue had come onboard.  More so, she realized when she thought about Scott's suggestion, it was arrogant.  Just because they were on the _Cerebro_, Scott seemed to think he was still second-in-command.  He forgot there were two right hand men on board.

"Yes, Cyke, have Jean fix the sail.  But you and Gambit shall work together to take down this sail."  She didn't know who she was punishing more, but the look on Scott's face was worth all the complaining Gambit could create.  She haughtily brushed her hair over her shoulder, paying him no more mind than a parent would a child who complained about eating vegetables.  "You need to learn your place, Scott. My crew isn't here so you can order them around.  We're a team.  Maybe a bit of real teamwork will help you to remember that."

He was going to complain, but the cabin door opened behind him, the door smacking him on the back of th head.  He fell over, but John and Warren were too sleepy to notice this, and Mystique didn't care.  Apparently Scott was unconscious. John rubbed his eyes, his Australian accent slurred.  "You called for us, mate?"

Charles smiled at them.  "Go back to bed, you two.  We're all okay now.  We just had a bit of a fight with Captain Drake."

John shut the door, and both of them grumbled about having their beauty sleep interrupted.

On top of the crow's nest, Kitty watched the other ship got left far behind.  She caught her ponytail and held it still.  Her hair was so long it hurt when it was whipped across her face by Storm's gusting wind.  She was a little forlorn, and Kurt noticed this.  

"Penny for your thought, Katzchen?" he teased, tweaking on her ear for fun.

She leaned against him for support, nuzzling against his furry skin like the cat she'd been named after.  "I wish that Drake could have fired at us one more time, just so that I would have been able to try and phase this whole ship.  It would have left me drained, I know that, but it would have been neat to see if I really could do it.  But then I have to tell myself that wishing that is dangerous, in case I failed, and because I shouldn't be wishing we were put in danger.  Our lives are bad enough as they are without my dreams screwing everything up."

Kurt nodded, understanding her perfectly.  "Vell, Katzchen, you may doubt yourself, but I know you could have done it.  And you should know that you could do it too.  Keep believing in yourself, Katzchen."

"I'll try.  Sometimes it seems so hard, Kurt."

  


He gently smiled.  "Everyone feels that vay at times, Katzchen.  I used to zink zat I vould never be loved because of how I looked, but now I have not only ze love of my darling Amanda, but of you as vell."  She giggled.  "You doubt your strength.  Others, like Rogue, doubt seir shields.  All one can ever do is lean on zeir friends for support, until sey prove to semselves zat zay are stronger, or braver, or even kinder zan zay alvays thought.  Don't vorry so much, Katchen.  You shall prove your vorth to yourself some day, even if all your friends already believe in you."

She gave him a tight hug.  "Thank you, Kurt."

Back on deck, Rogue was leaning over the side, thinking to herself.  Gambit came and leaned next to her, gazing across the ocean.  "It's pretty isn't it?"

He glanced over her face and body, and then smiled smugly.  "It sure is."

"I meant the ocean, Cajun."

He shrugged.  It was kind of pretty, but growing boring to Gambit.  "Gambit will agree it is pretty if you want him to.  I dink dat once I would have agreed with you, Chere, but now it all looks the same to me.  Perhaps Gambit spent one too many years on the ocean, eh?"  She didn't respond, and he knew something was wrong.  "Scared, Chere?  Dis was your first sea battle, after all, although most of them and longer."

Rogue turned around to look at the sail, which Gambit would be taking down after Scott regained his vision.  'Of course, he didn't have any vision to... aw, shut up.'  She pondered the hole in the sail.  "Ah don't understand.  Mystique told me about Drake.  Ah know that he doesn't like y'all, but she also said he wouldn't go after Xavier, in case the people below him rebelled.  But he just attacked us, when we're on _The Cerebro_.  Why?"

"Gambit does not know, Chere.  Perhaps _mon__ capitain Drake has gotten too big for his breeches.  Den again, Drake is crazy.  He won't take orders dat ask him to shoot down dis ship, but dat don't mean he won't do it out of the good nature of his heart.  He. . . ."_

"Yeah, yeah, he hates all mutants.  Ah know already, Gambit.  Ah don't quite understand why he just can't accept us, but maybe Ah nevah will.  Maybe it's one of life's big mysteries.  I just wonder how that cannonball even hit us.  We should have been too high for it.  Unless he's crazy enough to shoot the cannon on an almost vertical level."   They were both silent, and she struggled to make small talk.  "Ah wonder how Kitty's comin' on those scrolls.  She hasn't been in her bed in days."

He smiled his pirate grin.  "Maybe she's been goin' to de bed of de Russian instead.  Our Kitty's not a little girl anymore."

She glared at him for even suggesting that.  "But she was still brought up ta be a noble, like me.  Ya may have gone bouncing around from bed to bed when you were a teenager, Cajun, but Kitty and Ah were brought up differently.  Ah mean, when's the last time ya saw me actin' promiscuous?"

"Never.  Rogue acts like a nun, if ya ask me."

"A nun?  Ye're crazy!  And Ah wasn't askin' ya!"

"_Oui_, Chere, you were."

"Aw, shut up, Cajun!  Why don't ya jump overboard or somethin'?"

Gambit shrugged and began to climb on the thick wooden railing.  "If you say so.  Your word is Gambit's command."

  


She grabbed his jacket and pulled him down with her now super human strength.  "Ah wasn't serious, Gambit!"  Her hair danced across her worried face.  "Ye're crazy!  Don't ya ever do somethin' like that again!  Are ya trying ta give me a heart attack or somethin'?"

"Gambit didn't mean to scare you, Chere," he tenderly said.  His red and black eyes caught and held hers, and he slowly grinned, looking charming despite his unwholesome looks.  Rogue felt her heart begin to beat faster, held like a prisoner in his gaze.  He reached out a hand, his fingers almost brushing her skin.  Rogue was frozen to the spot, terrified of moving a centimetre in case she hurt him.  "Chere, seeing as how we're partners in our secret mission and all, how about when no one else is around, you call me by real name instead of by my nicknames?  D'accord?"

"Sure," she agreed.  Her breathing felt shallow, like she couldn't catch her breath.  She hadn't realized that he'd moved a little bit closer to her.  His chest almost touched hers.  The gloved fingers of his other hand rushed the exposed portions of her arm.  Goose bumps raced up and down her skin.  "Are ya sure that Ah know ya well, enough, though?  Ya always said that if a girl was goin' ta learn yer real name, she had ta get ta know ya real well."

"Actually, dat was a lie.  Gambit's never told another soul his real name.  I used to 'tink de devil himself would have to drag it out of me."  His hand moved under her chin, tilting her face up to his, still without touching her.  He could feel the blood pumping through his veins.  "It's Remy."

"Remy," she purred.  His other hand had slid up to her hair, toying with the ends.  For such a simple movement, it made Rogue shudder with pleasure.  "Mah name really is. . . ."

His quickly placed his gloved fingers over her soft lips.  "Shh. Gambit doesn't want ta know.  Rogue suits you far too well.  I like de pirate-girl who snuck into my bed one night.  Not the girl who was brought up to be a lady.  Dey don't have a backbone."  He flashed the cocky grin again, his eyes swallowing her whole.  "And dey aren't so sexy."

Rogue didn't even blush.  She was too far gone for it.  Her heart started pounding faster.  When his fingers traced her bottom lip, she thought she was going to die.  It was like torture, only each time he touched her, or almost touched her, it felt heavenly.  She completely forgot about her powers, or that there were other people on deck.  "Remy, I. . . ."

He slowly leaned down, as Rogue tilted up on her tip toes.  His lips pressed against hers, and she knew she had to be in heaven.  His lips were as warm as the sun, and soft against hers.  It felt like fire was racing up and down her body.  She ran her fingers through his hair, her heart aching when memories started pouring into her mind.

'Memories?  Oh God. . . .'  Though it hurt her desperately, she pushed him away.  She had needed that, but she...

He was okay.  He grinned at her, a pleased look on his face.  Obviously, he had liked it too.  "See, Chere?  Gambit's okay.  It takes a lot more dan dat to hurt de King of Dieves."  He grinned, and touched his lips lightly, recalling the kiss. "And not too bad for never kissing."

"Not too bad for being a fishmonger," she hastily reported.  

Gambit laughed at her comment.  "Don't 'tink dat just because Gambit kissed you it means our deal's off."  His bravado abruptly disappeared.  "Or if you don't want to kiss Gambit again, I'll take it that has payment with a guarantee to help you later."

"Well... Ah... aw, this sucks."

Mystique had seen it all.  Luckily the boy hadn't been hurt.  She wished Rogue would kick him for pulling a stunt like that.  "Gambit!" she hollered.  Her glanced over his shoulder.  "The dickless wonder is walking around again, so you can take that sail down now."

He nodded, and turned around.

And then he promptly fell over, knocked unconscious by his kiss with Rogue.

  


Raven sighed, her forehead in her palm.  "Dammit!" she grumbled.  "That sail's never going to get fixed!" 

****

"Amazing!" Bobby said after their short bout with Xavier's ship.  He turned to Bishop and Cable, a pleased look in his eyes.  "I've never seen a blast with such power!"

"Nor will you again," Cable growled.  "After we kill Gambit, this is coming back with us.  We can't leave the weapons of the future, even the near future, lying around in the past."

Robert nodded.  "Of course, of course."  He caught one of his men standing around doing nothing.  "You!  Boy!  Get in my office now!"  The young boy scrambled into Bobby's chambers.  Saying goodbye to Bishop and Cable, leaving them to "improve" all the other cannons, he swept after the young lad.

Nervously fidgeting in a large chair, the young boy jumped to attention when the captain entered.  He gave a poor salute, but Drake gave him credit for trying.  "Your name is Evan, isn't it?"  Evan, or "Spyke" as he preferred being called, nodded, wondering what was to be his fate.  Drake ran a tight ship.  "Evan, if I recall correctly, and I normally do, you're good with technology.  Isn't that right?"

This time he managed to spit out an answer.  "Yes, sir.  I'm here on a ship earning some extra money so that I can continue my education next fall."

"Good for you, Evan."  He breathed a sigh of relief.  "Now I have a special job for you.  You know those cannons that Bishop and Cable are working on?  Tonight, and all the other nights after this, I want you to work on figuring out how they work.  I want that technology.  If I had that type of power in my cannons all the time, I could blast those ships out of the water in no time!"

"I can do that, sir."  The captain waved for him to be dismissed.  "Ah, sir?  Would it be okay if I went to bed now, seeing as how I'll be up all night tinkering with the weapon systems?"  Drake nodded, and Evan bounded away.

Leaning back in his chair, Drake smiled.  He'd have the secrets of the future sooner or later.

****

Two days later Kitty once again emerged from the locked library.  Her hair was unkept, and there were circles under eyes, but her smile brightened up everyone's spirits.  Tensions had become high after the eighth day.  Neither crew was used to working in such crowded spaces, and many of them, especially Logan, were territorial.

"I did it!" she cheered, waving a piece of parchment.  "I finally translated all these old scrolls!"

Everyone had their own reactions to this news.  Kurt was happy for Kitty, his smile telling her he had believed in her all along.  Peter also smiled at her proudly.  Kurt glared at the Russian when he saw this.  Xavier was as pleased as Kurt, and Mystique mentally bragged about her smart Katherine.  

Rogue, by far, had the best reaction, as she had not been present downstairs when Katherine had asked to look at them.  "What scrolls?  What?"

  


"Latin!" she happily replied.  "I translated the Latin easily enough, and without help this time, but it didn't make any sense at all.  It was nothing but a copy of the Aeneid.  Or the Iliad or whatever you want to call it.  But the scrolls were supposed to be about the gems, the treasure we're after, and the pictures didn't fit the story.  So I started looking for a pattern, but I couldn't find one.  And then, it suddenly hit me.  What's the Iliad about?  The battle of Troy!"

Even Mystique didn't understand.  "But we know the gems aren't buried in Troy.  They're in Olympus, somewhere."

Katherine nodded.  "I know!  But remember at the end of the story?  How the Greeks trick the Trojans?  They use a wooden horse!  A plain structure, but filled with enemy men.  Although some stories it's actually only one men and he opens the doors for all the others.  A plain object with something hidden inside!  Like a piece of paper containing a hidden message!"

"But you already said there wasn't one, kid," Logan growled.  "So spit it out already."

She made a face.  "Aw, Wolverine!  You're spoiling all my fun!  Okay, I'll hurry it up.  The scrolls are written on papyrus, which really only makes sense because one of the clues was. . . ."

"Get on with it already!" everyone chorused.

Now she really pouted.  "Fine!  I'm getting there!  Then I held the paper up to the light."

She did so, and suddenly there was a crack of thunder.  Twelve intricately carved ornaments danced between them and the parchment.  A voice rang in their ears, but they couldn't understand it.  It was a harsh sound, but it moved swiftly and easily in the speaker's voice.  Kitty motioned for Peter to come over and hold the paper, as he was the tallest one there.

"The voice is in Latin.  It took me a long time to translate.  But this is what it says: The world is growing old.  Our world is growing old.  Our power is weakening as we are forgotten.  So we will place our power in sacred objects, so that we will never truly die.  Haephesetus worked long, hard our toiling over these creations, but they have finally been finished.  

"First, there is my crown, the crown of the gods."  The crown enlarged itself, circling on the floor of the ship, so that all could see its magnificence.  "The diamond in the centre holds my power of lightning."  Storm made a scoff.  Lightning from a rock?  How absurd!

"Then there is Hera's tiara."  Again, the object in question grew large.  Rogue could feel herself feeling the tiara, here eyes growing large as thought of possessing it.  "My wife has selected the emerald to hold her power.  It contains the powers of mind-control.  A dangerous stone, but one that can be easily held if the owner is pure of heart.

"My brother Aries has picked the ruby.  His dagger has a magic of its own, and shall never grow dull.  His ruby turns the bearer into an invincible swordsman.  Besides unbeatable skill, they gain strength, speed, and every other quality needed to win a battle."  Wolverine's eyes glittered in his stoic face.  They could become unbeatable?  What a challenge that would be for him!  It would be a true display of his powers, to take on a living god!

"Poseidon has the aquamarine, a perfectly suited match, if there ever was one.  The owner of the gem gains the ability to walk on water."  Peter stared at the sceptre, and found himself daydreaming about walking on the water.  He was such a usually brave person, it was odd that water should bother him, but it made sense once he was in his organic steel form, which would sink.  (It was even odder that he was a pirate who hated water.)

  


"Athena has the shield, decorated with moonstones, of the white-grey variety.  Besides impenetrable strength, the shield bearer gains uncontested wisdom."  Scott hid a smile.  Wisdom?  He wouldn't be put down so much if he was smarter than everyone else.  And maybe he might even think of a comeback when Mystique made fun of him.

"Apollo has the citron, held within his favourite gold ring, symbolizing the racing of the sun across the sky.  It contains the power to control light."  Kurt snickered quietly.  What a laugh it would be if the 'demon' among them had the power to control the light itself!  Oh, it would be joyous fun to put out the sun and scare unsuspecting people!

"Artemis has chosen the jade, and has placed in the corset of her chosen people, the Amazons."  For being called a corset, it was actually an intricately made metal belt, embedded with jades.  "It contains the power of the hunt: an excellent shot, enhanced sense, and the speed to fly over any terrain."  Gambit could feel his fingers itch to hold the belt.  Imagine how crafty a thief he would be if he could outrun his enemies!  And his senses, some of them, were already enhanced.  With that belt he could have abilities paralleling Wolverine's!  "But this garment can only be worn by a woman."

'Damnation!'

"Bachuus's item is a cup.  My drunk relative, rather then give his purple sapphire the ability to stop drunkenness or create it at will, instead made a cup, which will never be empty of the most intoxicated alcohol known to man."  All the drinkers in the crowd smacked their lips as they thought about the possibilities.

"Demeter has chosen a simple quartz rock, beautiful, though not rare.  True to her gentle, nature-loving nature, when this barrette is worn, the steps of the owner are so light they cannot hurt the grass and plants as they walk."  Katherine hid a giggle.  She could do that too, if she could always stay phased.  "But my sweet sibling has also given this tiny stone the ability to grow plants.  Only those who know the worth of the earth may use this other power.

"The caduceus obviously belongs to Hermes. His power is that of healing any wound or illness.  The gems are lapis lazuli, located in the eyes of the snakes."  Xavier folded his hands, deep in thought.  It seemed the object of his quest was somehow closer, now.

"Aphrodite chose the rare pink diamond, and placed it in a wedding ring.   While my sister is usually fickle, apt to helping couples one moment and then destroying them the next, she was sincere in making her ring.  It helps two people who love each other be together, no matter what the obstacle."  The girls sighed.  Aww!  Wasn't that cute!

"Lastly, my brother Hades and his sick sense of humour.  He has created two identical crowns of silver and onyx.  One of them is his magical crown of legend, granting the wearer invisibility at their wish.  The other is false, and the wearer of the crown shall face immediate death.  This is the power of the false crown."  

The projection flickered and disappeared.  Kitty's earlier excitement had caught to everyone.  Maybe they could handle the rest of the journey if such treasures awaited them!


	8. Chapter Eight

AN:  Well, it's a slightly shorter chapter, but hopefully the amounts of fluff and comedy I worked at putting in will make up for it! Whoo!  Seventy-seven reviews!  Have I mentioned how cool you guys are?  Sorry it took me so long.  I kind of went on an Inuyasha fling there for awhile.  Okay, I'm still kind of on it, but how could I leave my X-Men for very long?

Hollyw: actually, no, I didn't have to research all the mythology.  That stuff is kind of stuck in my head.  I adore mythology, and that'll also explain anything wrong in the myths. ^_^  Irony1, yup.  No matter what obstacle does indeed include the ability to touch.  Tammy: yeah, so, I just planned out what'll happen in the next chapter, and if you liked that, you should love chapter nine. Mag, yeah, I like stories with Kurt and Kitty because they make such a good team together.  Sometimes I wonder if they're more like brother and sister than Kurt and Rogue.  Ishandahalf: shhh!  You'll ruin the surprise!  Samm, Kitty's my favorite character.  (But oh!  What did I do to her in this chapter?)  GoddessChild, I'm glad you liked it!  Isn't it sad I can actually make pick up lines like that?  All I need to do is grow a French accent and maybe I can use it when I go to the bar.  *thinks*  Except I'm chained from computer and never leave my apartment, so maybe I'll just use it on the voice in the back of my head or something.

Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! Love ya!

**Chapter Eight**

            By the tenth day, their excitement at discovering the secrets of the gifts had worn off.  Wolverine was growling at everybody, Scott was sulking (thought that was norm), Mystique was biting everyone's head off (once again, normal) and even Xavier looked a little worm.  The only people not affected by sharing a two-person room between three people or eating at cramped tables were John and Warren, who spent most of their time sleeping, and only associated with each other.

            "Captains?" Scott asked, entering their office.  Gambit was right behind him.  "We'll be over Rome soon.  We're going to need to stock up on fresh supplies anyway, so Mr. Gambit and I were wondering if maybe. . . ."

            Xavier smiled and folded his hands together.  "A fine idea, Scott, and by far the best one you've come up with over the past few days.  Tell Wolverine to prepare to land the ship in the ocean.  We'll wait there until nightfall, and approach at night.  There is to be no stealing of any kind, for us or for them.  We barter for supplies, and we will make no scene.  We will move like shadows.  Make that especially clear to your crew, Raven."

            She put a hand to her throat, as if shocked by his suggestion that her pirates wouldn't be civil.  "My dear Charles, I believe you underestimate the way I train them.  You've been out of my guidance for ages, yet you still listen to me explicitly."

            His face turned a light shade of red, but his good nature concealed his embarrassment.  "Yes," he agreed.  "Yet should your people disagree with my rules, I shall not hesitate to give them my own talking to.  Do not mistake my polite silence with subservience, Raven.  If you do, you will be sorely mistaken."  His commanding gaze was replaced with one of kindness.  "You were always the best teacher I ever had, Mystique.  You taught me the hardest thing for anyone to learn: the difference between when to speak and when to be quiet."

            Mystique, seeing that Scott had quietly left when he thought a fight might ensue, and that Gambit was hanging around in the shadows, gave a tiny smile.  She patted Xavier's shoulder gently.  "And you always were one of my best earlier students, Charles.  Gambit, kindly pass on my co-captain's words about our unprepared landing and the rules of our engagement.  Seeing as how it will be the hardest for you, I expect you to keep a good example."

            "_Oui__, mon capitaine," he said obediently._

            "Oh?  And Gambit?"  When he turned back, he saw a glimmer in her sly eye.  "Ask Kitty to take out some money for you.  I want you to show Rogue a good time."

            "Ho… How do you know about dat?" Gambit stuttered, mystified at his commander's ability to know everything that goes on her ship.  He felt his cheeks begin to heat up.  Aah!  Was he actually blushing?  Cajuns didn't blush, damnit!  He smiled once his mind had stopped reeling.  "Gambit show Rogue de best time he can," he promised Mystique.

            Thus dismissed, he first went straight to Katherine and told him that Mystique was allowing him to take some money out.  As Mystique hadn't put on a limit on the amount, and as he was more than slightly irked at her impossibly omniscient attitude about her ship, Gambit decided to play a small prank on Mystique.  Who knew?  With her twisted sense of humor, after all, she might actually laugh!  "Take out enough so dat we can all go out and have a night on de town.  I don't what you want to do, but I'm planning on takin' Rogue to de fanciest place in town."

            At this, Katherine sighed wistfully, her hazel eyes clouded by teenager dreams of romance.  "That's so cute!"  She obediently reached into the safe and pulled out a handful of money, quickly counting it and recording it in her books.  Gambit was the second in command, after all!  Propping her chin her palm, she organized the coins and packed them all for Gambit, talking as she did so.  "It sounds like something from a fairy tale.  A dashing second, drunk on the life of a pirate, stumbles into bed and discovers a feisty noble lady he can't take his eyes off of since they first meet!" she sighed again.

            He felt himself grow hot under the collar.  How come everyone took a personal interest in his love life? "It's not like dat!  I swear it's not like dat!"  Knowing that protesting would only make it worse, he instead decided to put Kitty's romantic nature and altogether handy powers to good use.  "Kitty, _mon__ amie, would you mind doing Gambit a little favor?"_

            "Of course I don't mind!  What do you need help with?  Oh, do you want me to help you write poetry?  I do a really good sonnet, with iambic pentameter and everything!  Or I have that book of Shakespeare and. . . ."

            "Shakespeare?" Jean repeated, sticking her head in the door.  The red-head smiled dreamily.  "I love the Bard!  'Love is not love which alters when alterations find!'* Are you going to be reciting Shakespeare to Rogue, Gambit?  That lucky girl!  I wish that Scott would recite poetry for me!"

            Katherine clapped her hands excitedly.  "Oh!  Jeanie, no problem!  If you want, I can drop some hints at Scott for him to be more romantic with you!  Or I could even talk to Peter and ask him to have a little 'chat' with your boyfriend!"

            Jean smiled at the younger girl.  "That would be wonderful, Kitty!  Thank you ever so much! Oh… as long as it's not too much of a problem!  I don't want to burden you, after all.  You already do so much!"

            Leaping from her chair, the brown haired girl took the other girls hands in hers.  "It's no problem, I assure you, Jean!  It will be my pleasure to teach Scott how to treat women like us!"

            Gambit stared at them.  

            Remembering that Gambit had just asked her to do something, she turned back to him, pumping her fist in the air.  "Yes!  Katherine Pryde, matchmaker extraordinaire!  I'll help Gambit seduce Rogue, and make Scott more effeminate!"

            "Now you wait just one moment there, _petite_!"  His voice was still gentle as he sighed exasperatingly and tried to explain.  "First, dere is now way dat Cyke can become any more effeminate dan he already be.  _Tout le monde, knows dat Jean is de one wearing de pants!  And secondly, Gambit needs no help in seducing Rogue."_

            "Seducing Rogue?"  Storm stood in the doorway, her silver-white eyes looking angry.  She glared at him.  "There will be no seduction on Xavier's ship!"

            "Not unless it involves you and Wolverine, right Stormie?"  Gambit was pleased to see Storm's cheeks turn an indignant shade of red at Jean's words.  The slender woman laughed.  "All this time you'd always teased me for choosing Scott, and yet you pick Wolverine of all people!"

            "This is not about me," she reminded Jean.  "This is about Gambit and his attempts at seducing that fine young lady and turning her into a sexual object that he will later only remember as a conquest to his bed and a nameless body!"

            Katherine peeped up politely from her chair, slightly uncertain of what exactly was being so bad. What was the matter if Gambit wanted to show Rogue he loved her?  "Gambit's not seducing Rogue!  I am!"

            There was silence at this announcement.  Storm stared at Kitty, Jean was trying not to laugh, Katherine was working on her books and not paying the slightest attention to Ororo's horrified expression, and Gambit had calmly slunk away.

            'Women are crazy!' he complained, jingling his sack of money.  Despite his thoughts, he looked quite pleased with himself, and burst out laughing over the whole situation.

            He waited until Rogue was alone to strike.  He caught her when she was Xavier's library doing a bit of studying.  Mystique had told her that pirates needed to keep their minds as fit as their brains.  He watched her from the door, as unnoticed as the scents of Ororo's cooking wafting from downstairs, or the pretty sunset outside the port window.

            He was once again struck by her beauty.  Her hair looked auburn in the light of the setting sun, and the white streaks that framed her chin made her face look soft.  She was chewing on her finger as she puzzled over a math problem, her eyebrows furrowed.  She suddenly shuddered, as if someone had stepped over her grave, and looked up at him.  "Hey, Remy."

            She loved the way his name rolled of her lips.  Her heart began to beat wildly when she thought of how she was the one he had entrusted it to.  There was a certain amount of power, she now knew, from knowing the real name of a thief.  It was like she owned a part of him now.  Like part of him was hers, and only hers.  Remy just liked to hear her say it.  Her accent made it sound so. . . .

            "What are you studying?" he asked her, pulling up a seat so he could sit beside Rogue.  He wanted to steer clear of that dangerous topic.  The way she said his name, it sounded so… well!  Sufficed enough to say that poor Gambit was no longer sure if he was the seducer or the helpless victim!

            "Mathematics, and it's a pain in tha ass, Cajun!  Ah mean, Ah understand simply calculus and substituting letters and numbers and all, but this is just re-goddamn-diculous!  Ah don't think Ah'll ever get this stuff figured out!"

            "Giving up, Rogue?"

            At his suggestion she seemed to be revitalized.  "Not yet.  My Momma didn't raise me ta be a quitter!  But my brain's startin' ta get all foggy.  Ah think Ah might call it quits soon and let ma mind rest."

            "If you really need help, ask Kitty.  She might be younger dan you, c_here, but she's a smart kid."  Leaning forward, his black and red eyes burned with the fires of the Underworld as he stared at her as Hades would Persephone.  "__Chere, you didn't see anythin' from my brain did you?"_

            Rogue stared at him blandly, her cheeks her turning red.  "Remy, are ya feelin' guilty about kissin' me now?  What?  Are ya worried that all yer little secrets are floatin' around in mah head and waitin' for me ta tell the world?  Ah don't kiss and tell, Cajun!"

            He shrugged, gently patting her back.  "Forgive me, Rogue.  Gambit meant no disrespect!   I just couldn't help but wondering if you had gotten any of my powers, or my memories.  After all, Peter only touched you once, and you got his strength and some of his mind, right?"

            She didn't like that.  She didn't like how he had said she had taken some of their mind.  Rogue didn't do it on purpose!  And she refused to believe that she was stealing a small piece of their minds.  Rogue was… copying them.  Yes, she copied –grafted, even- memories from someone else's mind on to her own.  Peter still had his thoughts after all. . . .

            Caught under her gaze, he resented speaking his words and apologized.  "Gambit was coming here so dat he could remind you about dat letter.  De one I got Warren to give to you.  Seeing as how we be stopping at dis port, I t'ught it might be a good time to live up to my question."

            "Remy," she breathed, her anger forgotten.  "Are ya askin' me out on a date?"

            "Well, dat depends.  If I say yes, are you going to get scared and say no?  And if I say yes, are you goin to act all weird when we go out?"

            Rogue chewed her lip as she thought.  "Naw.  Ah'll still be myself.  But… Ah mean… it'd be kind of sweet if it were a yes."

            The smile that lit up Gambit's face took away the sting of guilt that had stabbed Rogue's heart when she told him that she hadn't absorbed any of his memories.  How could she tell him that she knew pieces of his childhood, good thoughts and feelings that echoed the way he thought and felt about her?  Rogue didn't want to find out about Gambit from stealing pieces of his brain!  She wanted to find out about him straight from the mouth of the Cajun himself!  Rogue wanted to know that Gambit was opening up to him willingly, not because her powers forced him to.

            Which is why she loved saying his name so much.  She hadn't used her powers to get that; he'd told her because he'd wanted her to know.

            "Den it be a date!" he exclaimed proudly.  His fingers caught his chin as he eyed her up and down critically.  There was a look in his eyes that made Rogue want to throw herself at him and declare that he whisk her away and do with her what he wanted, like in one of her mother's romance novels.  Rogue, of course, would always deny that she had more than once or twice glanced at the books, and maybe read a few of the pages.

            "You know, you're going to be needing something pretty to wear," he said after studying her a moment.  "While Gambit tinks you look smashing in your pirate clothes, if we're going out someplace fancy, he tinks you need something a bit more dressy."

            She shook her head.  "Yer takin' me out someplace fancy, Remy?  Ah don't need fancy places."

            "Don't worry, _Chere_!" he laughed, plumping down his share of the money from the safe.  "It's on de Captain!  But… you were raised to be a lady, Rogue, and I want to show to you that Gambit can be a gentleman."

            Rogue was touched, and smiled at him gently, her impishness hidden behind her caring expression.  "Ya don't need to prove that, Gambit!  Ah already know.  Besides, Ah thought ya said ya like me as a rogue."

            "Gambit does, _Chere_, he does, but I be feeling like I do need to prove this."  The way he looked at her made her sigh and relent.  

            "All right, Cajun.  Ya got yerself a deal.  Ah guess this means I need to go and ask to borrow a dress from Jeanie or somethin'."  

            She wondered about his chuckle as he left.  The mystery behind it was revealed to her when she finally put out the light in the library and went downstairs.  She changed and crawled into her bed, hoping that calculus would make more sense in the light of the new day, and found a note under her bed.  

            Tilting it so that she could read it from the light of the stars, seeing as how her roommates were sound asleep, she squinted to make out Gambit's scrawl.  

            _I'd hate for you to have to wear something that might have been touched by Scott, so if you look in the dresser tomorrow morning, you'll find a bit of money so that you and Katherine can go out tomorrow morning and find yourselves something to wear.  _

_            I'd tell you what we're doing tomorrow, but that would ruin the surprise.  All I can tell you is that it's going to be a full day.  _

_            You should be reading this as you go to bed, if I've planned it right.  Don't go look at the money now, Chere, I want the last thing you think of to be me writing this to you.  Or, if you prefer, wondering how I snuck it under your pillow.  Basically, I just want you to be thinking of me as you fall asleep.  Who knows?  Maybe I might show up your dreams, which is only fair because you're always in mine._

_            Mon dieu!  This letter is getting a bit too touchy for my tastes.  It sounds like Peter writing to Katherine, instead of me to you.  How would I write to you, I can hear you asking.  Maybe one day I'll show you, Chere.  Till then, just know that I'll be thinking of you, too._

_Gambit_

_            P.S.  If Katherine, Stormie, or Jean say _anything_ at__ all about Kitty trying to seduce you, or about having them recite sonnets to you, it's all a lie!  A big, fat lie!   _

            Rogue folded the letter back up and placed it under her pillow, a smile on her face as she went to sleep.

~*~

            Robert lounged in his chair.  The pirates had created quite a paradox for him.  If he helped them in succeeding to kill Gambit before the Cajun could have a son, then in the future this "Rogue" would not exist.  In which case Bishop and Cable would not need to come back and help Robert kill Gambit.  Either way, Bobby now knew that in the time line Bishop and Cable came from, he would not succeed in killing that damned thief.

            Irate with his thoughts, his launched himself form his chair, pacing the ship.  He spotted Spyke working on the cannons.  He leaned against the metal ammunition-launcher, tapping his fingers on his knee.  "How goes it, boy?"

            Spyke wiped his forehead.  The dark youth was having trouble wrapping his head around some of the concepts the cannon had revealed to him.  It was a puzzle he loved, he only wished the Captain didn't watch his every move like a rabid dog about to lunge.  "It's going, sir.  A few more nights and I'll be able to reproduce this kind of technology.  And if I modify the ammunition, I might even be able to improve it, sir!"  His large eyes revealed to him that the Iceman was nodding approvingly.  Now came the hard part.  "However, ah, Captain, I'm going to need a few more tools."

            At first the Iceman looked angry, but he soon relaxed.  "Very well, Spyke.  We'll be landing in a port tomorrow.  I'm certain you can get your materials then."  He paused.  "Tell me: a bright young mutant like yourself, what are you doing on my ship?  You don't seem like the Drake type."

            The boy nodded.  "I don't know, Sir.  I really don't."

            Drake smiled.  "That's a good answer, boy.  Now get back to work.  Next time we come across those pirates, they'll never know what hit them!"


	9. Chapter Nine

**AN:  **My muse just upped and left me for this fic!  She just upped and left!  Why??  Why I ask you, why?  Finally, I update again!  I'm sooooo sorry that it took so long, but I honestly sat there, staring at Cuddles saying:   "Ahhhhh!  Where did all the ideas in my head go??  I need to update!"  But bit by bit, it all came together, and the end result is another chapter of 'Mutants, Heirs of the Gods'!  Welcome, one and all, to the chapter that I found the hardest to write EVER!  (And given the fact that all I do is write, that's just about an honor!)

And perhaps, as a result, it's not so fluffy.  Oh, there's fluff, and comedy.  I'm really trying to work on the comedy aspect of my writing, but there's not as much fluff as I though there would be.  Although, since it IS Remy and Rogue and they aren't a very fluffy couple to begin with….  Meh, you tell me!

Ishandahalf: *accepts the pretty gold star and blushes*

Sam:  the future Rogue is just a thief… that NOBODY can catch.  So they are going to kill Gambit to keep Rogue (his great-whatever granddaughter) to keep from  being born.  Cable always seemed obsessive, but how poor Bishop got dragged in there…. *shrugs*  And yes, Bobby should go cry.  Although I have no problem with him in the comic books, I just asked my buddy who I should make the bad guy, and she told me Bobby.  So Bobby it was.

Tammy, who isn't Storm protective of?

Thanks for all the reviews, guys!  Once again, sorry I took so long!  Hopefully the next chapter will come easier.  Once I friggin get around to deciding who gets to go and find the jewels.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!!

Enjoy! ^_^

**Chapter Nine**

            "Do ya think it looks all right, Kitty?"  Rogue asked, studying herself in the full length mirror as Katherine, standing on a stool, helped her to fix her hair.  They'd parted it down the middle, leaving the white streak framing her face and the rest of it pulled back in a stylish French knot; which was suitable given the fact that she was going out with somebody who spoke the tongue.

            'And who probably kisses… aw!  What the hell am I doing thinking of smut like that!  What do I care what he does with his tongue?  I mean… aw, hell!'

            Oblivious to the chain of thoughts swirling in Rogue's head, Katherine laughed.  "Don't worry, Rogue!  It looks the same way it did in the shop this morning when those guys whistled at you.  And my dress also looks the same.  But Gambit and Peter sure are gonna look different!"

            "I wish Scott would look different," Jean mumbled as she tried to do up a necklace.  "I wouldn't mind seeing him dressed a little rakishly, like Gambit.  Or even wearing a tank top to show off his arms, like Peter!  But no, he has to dress from head to toe, as if he was some well reared lady from last century!"  

            She almost threw down the necklace in frustration.  Jean pursed her lips bitterly.  "You know, I wouldn't mind him covering up his body all the time, if he at least showed it to _me_!  If he went around showing it to everybody, I think I might just get jealous.  But because of his physique, he looks like a stick!  Looking at him, you wouldn't even think he _has muscles!"_

            "Honey," Rogue playfully drawled, "some of us aren't even sure he has a penis.  There's a reason why Mystique calls him the 'dickless wonder'."  She reached over and patted one of Jean's hands.  "But don't feel bad, Sugah!  Really, it's more of a compliment to yerself for being able ta put up with him for so long!" 

            Jean blinked, looking innocent.  "Scott's… equipped."

            A look of horror threw itself on Rogue's face.  "Jean, love, that's really more than Ah ever wanted to know!"

            Storm took the necklace from Jean's clutches and helped her put it on, a small smile hidden behind her calm features.  "I am actually quite eager to see how Logan looks properly groomed.  I still can't believe that Logan agreed to. . . ."  She noticed that the three girls in the room were staring at her.  Ororo glanced down at her dress, wondering if something was wrong.  There seemed nothing wrong with her dress.  She looked back up at them, their jaws still dangling.  "What ever is the matter?"

            Katherine was the first to find her voice.  "Wolvie's real name is… is _Logan?"  She tried to hold back her giggles.  _

            Ororo could have hit her head into the wall at that moment, watching her three friends try to hold on to their laughter.  She glared at them all, and the sight was so rare and powerful that they immediately forgot their laughter.  "Yes, it is.  But don't forget that others don't know this information.  Don't be like myself and forget.  Please.  Because if you do, I'm afraid Wolverine will be very, very mad."

            "Don't worry, Storm.  We'll be good."  Rogue already knew Wolverine's first name.  They had been embedded in his memories: the struggle for identity with only a first name, and no last name to tie his family to him, but she'd tried to ignore the information.  Yet she knew Ororo's slip had been honest.

            Somebody knocked on the door, sending the girls into a flurry of actively.  "They're early," Kitty grumbled as she slipped into her shoes.  "I mean, really!  What type of guys would actually show up early for a date?"

            Jean rolled her eyes.  "Most guys are early.  It's reasons like this why most girls are late.  I'm coming!  Hold on a second, for Pete's sake!"  They could make out Peter laughing on the other side of the door.  Fearlessly, having gone out with Cyke before, she threw open the door, and the two sexes stared at one another.

            Storm's dress was form fitting until the knees, when it flared out in a graceful flare, and the white color not only made her look softer, but it accented her dark skin and white hair that framed her strong shoulders.  Logan, by comparison, looked like he hadn't dressed up at all.  He wore a pair of jeans with a large buckle and a white shirt that looked more pirate-like than his usual plaid one.  

            Jean's dress was blue-green, making her hair look like fire.  It let a lot of skin show, and Scott stared at her.  He, of course, was impeccably dressed, and was covered from head to toe.  Jean gestured to him with her eyes, and sighed.  'I told you so.'

            Peter was dressed in a pair of slacks, a dress shirt and a vest.  Looking at him, everyone had to admit that he was a good match for their Kitten.  She wore a pink dress that fell to her knees and swayed when she moved.  

            Rogue, to Gambit, looked better than any of them.  She'd covered up from neck to toe, and had done so tastefully.  Her clothes were so tight he wondered if she'd even be able to sit down.  Her dress was green, with an oriental collar and sleeves that came down to her elbows.  She'd put on silver gloves, and wore a dangling silver chain.  The only skin she showed was a long, slender leg that slipped through the slit of the dress.  God, but he wanted her more now!

            She shook her head when she saw him.  Like Peter and Scott, he was wearing slacks, but his were tight in all the right places, making his legs look so long he seemed to move like a stalking cat.  He wore a black shirt to match his black pants.  It wasn't as classy as Peter's, as uptight as Scott's, or as casual as Logan's, but somewhere in the middle of all of them.  In fact, while Scott looked like, well, Scott, and Wolverine could have passed for a blacksmith or something, and Peter as a scholar, Gambit was practically screaming he was a pirate.

            She hugged him with a grin on her face.  "Ah should have known that ya could never look like a real gentleman, ya pirate, even if ya can act like one."  When she pulled away, he winked at her.  "Where are we goin', love?"

~*~

            After the ballet was over, Rogue felt like she was in Heaven as she hung off Remy's arm under a kaleidoscope of stars, with her new family around her.  She was floating at the very idea of being on a date with Gambit, and her mind couldn't grasp that he had taken her to the ballet.  Ballet!  Who in the world would have guessed that someone who looked like a scoundrel could be so well-cultured?

            'And don't think I didn't see you drying your eyes at the end of the play, Remy,' she thought as she relaxed her head on his shoulder, so that they looked like lovers walking down the street.  Rogue knew that if it wasn't for her gift –curse, whatever- she would have been sharing a bed with him long ago.  Of course, that was disregarding the fact that they already had.  That first night didn't count!

            She might have wondered if he was being earnest, or if this was all some type of trick he was trying to play on her to get her to try and fall in love with him, but Rogue knew the feelings stirring in her heart when she looked at him could never have been created by trickery. Nor could the feeling in his eyes that he looked at her with.  No, this was completely and utterly real. 

            'I can't believe it!  This is a dream come true!'

            "It is such a beautiful night!" Storm sighed.  Rogue knew that by her tone of voice Ororo had done nothing to make the night still and cloudless.  

            Katherine nodded as she walked on the railing bordering the port, as easily and with as much grace as her nickname.  "It's a night for lovers."  Peter only nervously smiled his agreement.  

            "For magic," Jean said with a look at Scott that made the stiff man turn red under his collar.  Somebody had talked to him, nobody was going to admit to it, and nobody offered any hint as to what had been said, but it was obvious that Scott had been taught something or other.  After the play was over, he and Jean had been talking in hushed voices together, and he'd actually smiled!  Oh, no, but that wasn't the part that had made Jean wonder if Scott had finally become comfortable with himself, no, it was that in the middle of her sentence he'd grabbed and her pulled her back, giving her a long, passionate kiss that made even Gambit think they should have saved it for the bedroom.

            Logan huffed.  "For food!"  Gambit chuckled, feeling hungry himself.

            Storm frowned, but when he looked at her, the expression eased away.  "You really do know how to ruin the mood, don't you?  You would think that being as old as you are you would have learned a little bit of poetry."

            Wolverine stopped short.  He knew that Storm was only kidding, but still, her words hurt a bit.  Strangely, of everyone on the ship, it was Mystique and Storm who knew him the best.  Mystique because they had crossed paths on more than one occasion, and Storm because he was falling in love with her.  She was everything he was not (including tall) and in some mutated way it felt as if that meant she were a part of him.

            "I love the with a love I seem to lose/With my lost saints,-I love the with the breath,/Smiles, tears, of all my life! –and, if God choose,/I shall but love thee better after death."*

            Everyone stared at him.  Kitty nearly fell off the beam, but Peter caught her.  Storm slowly broke free of her surprise to walk over and take his chin in her slender hands and kiss him softly.  "I'm sorry for saying that about you, Lo-Wolverine.  That was completely and utterly uncalled for."

            Luckily they managed to get through the rest of the trip to the restaurant without any further interruptions.  At dinner, they all shared a table, and many jokes were made about not having to eat Rogue's, or Gambit's, or even Storm's cooking.  They took it good naturedly, and then proceeded to make smart-ass comments in retaliation.  The arrival of the maitre d' and Storm's comment of: 'Bite me, bolt boy' to Peter ended the argument with resounding laughter from the whole table.

            The maitre d', of course, thought they were all nuts.

            When Gambit ordered the wine, Kitty looked up hopefully.  "Does this mean I can have a glass too?" she asked hopefully.  "Came on, guys!  It's a special occasion!"

            Logan glared at her.  "Half pint, if the Cajun orders you wine, I'm gonna tell You Know Who that you got trashed and made an ass of yourself, whether or not it's true.  We're supposed to be on our best behavior."  Cyke got the strangest look behind his glasses, as if he now had more respect for Logan for putting his foot down.

            Gambit laughed and handed the wine list to the waiter.  "Everybody will have wine except for dose too," he said, pointing to the Russian and Katherine.  "De gentleman will have… apple juice, and de kitten will have milk, but put dem in wine glasses to make dem feel special, _d'accord_?"

            Dinner went by pleasantly well, without any trouble from between the two groups of pirates or from other people, as the girls were receiving many eyeing looks from males who past them by.  Gambit and Logan had shot more than a couple warning glances, even Rogue had made a few comments beneath her breath, and Katherine had to keep calming Peter down by holding his hand.  Which she, of course, didn't mind at all.

            Gambit was actually very pleased to have Rogue hanging off his arm and earning looks from others of the opposite sex.  But whenever he thought this way and realized that his thoughts were like those of a man with a trophy wife, he had to remind himself that he was with her because she had accepted him.  Rogue was really in control of everything: she had all the power.  She could refuse him if she so wished, dismiss him without so much as a goodbye word and he would have to accept that or be miserable his whole life.

            Of course, Gambit didn't mind letting Rogue be in control at all.

            Everybody refused to leave before they had desert.  Leaning back in his chair, Gambit quickly counted in his head to make sure he had enough money.  He agreed, and grinned at Rogue.  "Surprise me, _Chere_."  And then he began to rub his leg against hers.

            Her back straightened when he did so, and she lifted the desert menu higher so that she could hide her suddenly very red face.  It felt really good, having his leg rubbing against hers.  As long as he didn't get any other ideas. . . .  'Oh, who am I kidding?  He can have all of the ideas he wants to as long as the stupid swamp rat doesn't go and get himself killed trying to… well, trying to… aw, hell and spitfire, why can't I think of that without turning as red as Peter when Kitty kisses him?!'

            She was suddenly very aware of how much she needed chocolate.

            Kitty was saying much the same thing.  She'd known what she wanted for desert as soon as she had sat down at the table.  How long had it been since she had chocolate mousse?  "Gambit, we should bring some back for Kurt and the others, don't you think?"

            "Petite, we don't have…. Maitre d'!  De check!"  He leaned over the table at them all.  "All right, _mes__ amis, let's bring food back for everyone!  What's say we go to de bakery and buy ourselves de biggest cake we can find."_

            "Chocolate cake, Cajun.  It has to be chocolate."  Rogue smiled at him and his kind plan, and even at how his body language made it suggest that it was a devilish little thing.  Cyke was raising an eyebrow as if he disproved, but a rather giddy Jean was whispering in his ear and quickly talking him over.

            Both Logan and Rogue were more than just a little surprised when Storm cracked her knuckles and grinned.  She didn't seem like a grinner.  She was always so straight and tall, like some sort of a beacon.  Rogue sometimes understood why she had often found it easy to see why Storm had been called a goddess on more than one occasion.  But know she looked like she could be a thief herself.

            They paid for the bill and then proceeded to try and find a bakery.  Thanks to his super human senses, Logan was the first one to realize that something was wrong; that something was wrong besides the fact that it was eleven o clock at night and no bakery would be open.  "Someone's followin' us," he growled, sniffing the air.

            Storm nodded at Jean.  While the red-head did a quick mental sweep of the area trying to find a mind that raged of thoughts of harming them, Ororo flew up into the air and took a look around.  They were now deep in the city, and the night life of the town still clung to the restaurants and theatres of the main street.

            "Well?" Peter called up to her.

            "I don't see anything.  Logan, are you sure that you can smell someone following us."

            He tapped his nose.  "My nose doesn't lie."

            Kitty snickered behind Peter.  "I'm surprised that it hasn't gone out of commission with all those cigars you smoke.  Eeep!"  She phased of the way when he suddenly appeared behind her and tried to mess up her hair.  "Sorry."

            Rogue suddenly turned around, hearing voices.  Gambit stiffened at her side.  He had heard them too.  But Jean could find nobody wishing to hurt them, no dark spirits lurking around them, so the two southerners did not get into fighting stances.  They simply let the two figures walk around the corner.

            The first had white hair, the second was as dark as Ororo, and both of them gave off a feeling that they did not belong.  They looked up to see whose shadows blocked their path, and the white haired one immediately snarled and ran forward, reaching for his weapon. 

            Jean hissed in pain as her still open mind suddenly hurt with the force of the intent of the white haired man's lethal attack.  Logan grinned and unsheathed his metal claws.  "I knew it."  He'd make Storm apologize for insulting him later.

            "Die, Gambit!"

            His first thought was that the phrase was completely over used, his second thought was how the attacker knew who he was.  Perhaps the eyes gave him away.  He reached for his playing cards, and then realized he wasn't carrying any.  Well, pebbles from the street would work just as well.  Cyclops grabbed his arm before he could charge it.  "Explosions.  We aren't supposed to use our powers!"

            "Gambit is sorry, Cyke.  Would you prefer dat Gambit just let him... what de hell is that?  Gambit ain't never seen a pistol like dat before."  The attacker pulled the trigger.

            And a bullet passed right through him.  He looked down to see that Kitty had grabbed the hem of his shirt in the nick of time and had phased him.  She glared at him, though it turned into a grin when his expression became thankful.  "Men."

            Rogue reacted instantaneously.  Their captains might have made it clear that there was to be no super powers being used, but that didn't mean she couldn't give the attacker a good old fashioned pummeling.

            "Wait! Rogue!"  She heard Peter come up behind her, but she didn't know if the big guy was planning on helping her or stopping her.

            Her ears twitched.  Since when did her ears twitch?  She could hear Wolverine and Storm arguing about whether or not his claws counted as mutant powers, and realized that she'd gained Wolverine's sensitive senses from their brief contact on the pirate ship.  Well, all the better for her then.

            "Ah'll teach ya ta shoot at my man!"

            Both men showed no further sign of wishing to pursue a fight.  They stared at Rogue, and then at all the people behind her.  The man with the darker hair turned to the one with the drawn weapon.  "Cable, the eyes are exactly the same.  The accent, too.  If more of the physical features were the same, I'd swear that it were _our_ Rogue."

            The man named Cable nodded.  Staring past her, he could see the others and pin point exactly which ones would help to create the woman they sought to destroy by killing the father.  He also saw Jean and Scott, and holstered his weapon once more.  "We'll meet again, Cajun.  Then you won't be so lucky.  I haven't failed once, and I won't let this be the first time that I fail."  He ran away.

            "Coward," Gambit hissed, wishing that he could have thrown the rock at him and let it explode.

            The other man simply shrugged and then walked away.  Rogue started to chase after him, but Jean's voice stopped her. _Leave him. We don't want to cause unnecessary trouble.  If they want to fight us, we'll do it when it's good for us, not be following them down dark alleyways when it's close to __midnight__._

            "Whatever," Rogue snapped, irate.  She pulled Gambit over into a corner, nearly slamming into a wall again when she accidentally tapped into Colossus' strength.  "All right, Cajun!  Who the hell were those guys and why were they tryin' ta kill ya?  Y'all have got a lot of secrets, Ah know, but if yer really serious about startin' a relationship, ya gotta be able ta let me know what tha hell is goin' on, sometimes!"

            Gambit was about to retaliate, his words no doubt fiery enough to have some sort of affect on her and start a war, but instead he blinked.  His red eyes suddenly stopped looking so devilish.  In fact, they actually looked as if they were filled with awe and wonderment.  "Chere, did you just start saying that you actually wanted to start something?"

            She paused and thought.  Then she nodded.  Hadn't this been determined already?  By the shining light of passion Gambit's heart cast, beaming through his suddenly radiant smile and sad eyes, apparently it hadn't been fully aware to him.  'God, he looks like a kid who just got his first girlfriend.'

            "Honestly, Rogue, Gambit don't know who dose _hommes were."  He shook his head slowly, and then reached out and pulled her against him.  Gambit's breath was hot on her neck.  "Believe me, seeing as how one of dem wanted me dead, I wish I knew.  And, Chere?  Gambit don't think dat he can tell every'ting you be wanting to hear.  But Gambit can show you."_

            "Yer doin' tha third person thing again, Remy," she muttered, wondering why she didn't care anymore.  It was kind of natural sounding for him to be speaking like that.  She licked her dry lips.  "What do ya mean 'show'?"

            His grip on her tightened as he lowered his face to hers and kissed her fiercely.  When he did that he made her think that there was hellfire in Gambit's veins instead of blood.  How could one person love life so much?  How could he be so passionate about everything, from simply being with her, to kissing her, to even the way he ran the ship.  She made a move to push him away, freeing her arms, but it felt too good, and she was drinking down the memories that flooded into her head greedily.  Rogue wrapped her arms around his neck as his slipped over her hips and lifted her legs around his waist.

            Okay, so she'd said that she wanted to hear all about him from his own mouth.  This was the same basic principle, just executed a bit differently.

            Coughing sounds made them stop.  Katherine was staring at them, her face a mixture of worry and awe.  She'd never seen anybody make out like that before!  And then the awe turned a slight shade of green as she wondered if Peter would ever kiss her like that.  Her question was destroyed when she saw that Gambit was looking a wee bit pale.  "That was rather stupid."

            "You're one to talk.  I seem to remember you accidentally getting caught in the floor boards."

            Her face went as pink as her dress. "That was when I didn't have my powers fully controlled!"

            "Den why did you try walking through de floorboard, _Petit?"  Kitty's face went red and she stormed off, threatening to hit something.  He tossed his arm around Rogue's shoulder and applied enough weight to it so that she'd think he was trying to keep her close instead of leaning on her.  'The world is just a __wee bit fuzzier than normal.'_

            Cyke was too busy groaning and cleaning his glasses to be able to see the bakery door open just a crack.  "We'd better get back," he said, making Kitty pout.  She'd promised Kurt she'd bring back something for him!  "We don't know who those guys were, or what the hell was with that pistol, but whatever it was it'll cause some distress for us.  We should go and tell Captain Xavier."

            "It's forty-five minutes till midnight, Scott!" Storm pointed out.  What had Charles been thinking when he made Scott second in command?  Storm had often thought that she would have been a much better choice.  Incidentally, everyone would have agreed, including Jean, and Mystique's approval would have been the loudest of them all.  "We can't possibly wake up Charles now!"

            There was a gentle cough.  Gambit straightened, preparing for danger, but he saw only an old man.  The old man's eyes were hooded with age, but they were laughing so strongly they were his most distinguishing figure.  "Do you mean Captain Charles Xavier?  You are members of his crew?"

            "Most of us," Gambit answered before anyone could stop him.

            The old man smiled.  "I can remember the last time that Captain Xavier passed over these parts.  I used the money he gave me to start up my shop.  Please, let me give you something as a means of saying thank you to him and his crew.  What would be more fitting than giving you all the end result of the kindness that he showed me.  Each one of my cakes is baked with love and humanity in mind."  He laughed jovially.  "I claim it's my secret ingredient."

            "Could it be a chocolate cake?" Rogue and Kitty asked in unison.

            His laughter continued, his cheeks pink and his belly shaking with each laugh.  "Girls and their chocolate!  Of course you may!  I'll be right back!"  He reappeared in a moment with a box wrapped in string, and gave it to Peter.  "You watch that box carefully, son.  You look like the only man here big enough to take on all the girls here to defend the chocolate from them."

            Everybody thanked the kind man and began to work their way home.  Rogue and Gambit noticed that Kitty wasn't with them (Peter and Logan probably would have noticed this too but they were too busy keeping Storm from peeking into the white box.) and they turned around.  They saw the old man come back of out the bakery and hand her a smaller package, which she tucked into her purse before giving him a dazzling smile and kissing his cheek.  She skipped to catch up with them, and Gambit knew what she'd done from the impish smile on her face.  He accomplished in doing what Logan hadn't:  ruffling her hair. "You've got a big heart, _Petite_."

            Rogue was drowning in memories that weren't her own.  Each one had a dozen more memories attached, and the emotions Gambit had felt in each of his thoughts were pure.  "She's not the only one, Remy."

            And he was glad they were lagging behind, because he'd hate to try and explain his suddenly very red face to the others.

~*~

            Everyone went to the dinning room to eat the cake.  Kitty snuck away from the group and knocked on Kurt's door.  He answered it rubbing his eyes and then his cheeks were a subtle shade of purple.  Oh well!  It might have been improper for him to answer the door in just his boxers, but Kitty was a fellow pirate, after all.  "Kitty?"

            She held out the package for him with an embarrassed face that could have rivaled Gambit's.  "Some nice gentleman gave us a cake, but you're allergic to chocolate, so I got you something else."

            He took it and slowly opened the box, and smiled.  "Vanilla.  Thank you, Kitty."

~*~

            Gambit was leaning more and more heavily on Rogue.  She shook her head disapprovingly and pulled away from the others.  "Yer goin' ta bed, Cajun.  That was really stupid of ya, grabbin' me and kissin' me like that.  Did yer Momma drop ya on yer head or somethin'?"

            He had to chuckle, tired as he was.  "How many of my memories did you absorb, Rogue?"

            "A lot," she didn't say anything else.

            Deciding to bite the bullet, he lowered himself on the bed and pulled off his boots as Rogue pulled down the covers so he wouldn't have to crawl into bed.  "Remember how we met, Rogue?  I've often wondered if de girl I met dat night might sneak in my bed again."

            "I wouldn't bet on it, Cajun!"  She pulled the covers over him, but he was already fast asleep.  Her hand was already on the doorknob when she turned to look at him again. That memory was in her head now, too.  She blinked her eyes. Had she always been able to see so well in the dark?  She'd often wished she would crawl into his bed again.

            Ignoring the fact that she was in a dress, she locked the door.  Let his roommates find another roost for the night!  Climbing into his bed with him, and wriggling down so that their faces could not accidentally touch in the night, she placed her head on his chest and realized just how tired she really was.  When his arms moved her even closer, she wondered if maybe he hadn't been as asleep as she'd previously thought.

To be Continued….

*'How Do I Love Thee', by Elizabeth Barrett Browning


	10. Chapter Ten

AN:  Okay, so, I completely and utterly apologize for how long it took me to come up with a chapter!  *cries*  But before I get to the responses, let's just clear some stuff up, so that I can review some of the flames that I have received in other X-Men fan fics and thus, hopefully avoid them in this fan fic.  First of all: this is AU.  So I don't care if so and so is from Factor and so and so is from such and such.  It's Alternate Universe.  No holds barred or whatnot.  Anything goes.  I could Spiderman in here, and it wouldn't really matter, except that it would make it a crossover. ^_^  Age is out the window. Pasts are out the window.  Powers have been toyed with.  It's all part of the genre!  Secondly, I'm not an X-Men genius.  Yes, I love X-Men; yes, I have some comic books, but I know very little when you think about the fact that the only ones I buy are the ones that have Kitty, because she IS my favourite character.  So to anybody who wants to say that I fooled with their characters, because in such and such an issue I say this:  It's AU!  And if you really think that it's important to me in a story where, in case you haven't noticed, there isn't even an Xavier institute, you can mail the comic to me! ^_^V

*coughs*  Now, back to the groveling.  Aw, heck, I'll save that to the next chapter.  ^_^  Let's get on to some responses!!  *perks back up*

ishandahalf:   Halloween candy?  It's been that long since I last updated?  Ahhhh!  I'm SOOOOOOOO sorry!  I will start writing chapter eleven immediately!! (I tried to get it written over Christmas break, but I forgot what the treasures looked like and I had no internet, thus no way of checking.)

roguechere:  I am perfectly horrible at grammar.  I'm doing my best to learn more.  Hopefully, you'll find less errors in this chapter.  Then again, this chapter IS fairly short, so there's room for errors.

Rory:  That's okay.  You don't have to like the Cable/Bishop subplot.  It's just foreshadowing.  (Hint, hint; nudge, nudge.)  And I kind of wish that Gambit had told her in a verbal way as well.  C'est la vie.  But who knows?  Maybe he will later on, in between chapters?

Irony1:  I like making kissing scenes.  Having been kissed very few times in my life, it leads to a large number of times sitting at a point in a story where two people kiss and I have to come up with a way of making it special for that couple.  Except,…. Well, usually it turns out to be a type of kiss I want instead. -_-;  I'm sure that if the person that had challenged me to write this fic was actually reading it, she'd have problems with that scene, but she's not and all you people who liked that part are!

Mag carter:  Actually, I think it's always Gambit's fault because the people who moved to New Orleans have their roots buried in French history. (Obviously.)  It's the French in him that causes him to get into trouble.  (Incidentally, I went to a French school, my Grandpa was French, this IS only a joke…)

Enjoy the chapter, people! ^_^

Chapter Ten

            Spyke tapped his foot as he waited for Cable and Bishop to arrive back on the ship. When they did, he emerged from the darkness.  He looked no more than in his mid teens, but he was oddly commanding of the area around him. Evan's lip curled disdainfully.  "You two really make me sick," he said, catching their attention, although the power that seemed to radiate off his dark skin had already caught it.  "And boy, did you two ever screw up.  I can't believe it. Two grown men out in the world and you break every single law that we have, as time travelers."

            Cable was unable to contain his annoyance.  "You the hell are you, kid?" he growled, in a wolverine-like way. Evans found it hard to believe that Cable was not related to Logan.  That would have made so much sense.  Bishop hung back, his eyes appraising.  "Are you seriously going to try to tell me that a little kid like you is a time traveler, or have you just been eavesdropping?"

            The youth's frown increased.  "Apparently you're not so much an idiot as my time makes you out to be, Cable." The white-haired man let out a snarl. "Oh, get off it!  You two screwed up!  Did you really think you'd get away with it?  You told Robert Drake about the future, you pulled a modern day weapon on Gambit, you even went so far as to give them technology that you knew didn't belong to them!  I only wish that I could tell you about the results of your stupid actions, but that would also get me in the hot seat, and I'm not stupid enough to let my whole life go down the drain because of anger, or a grudge."

            He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny ceramic disk, no bigger than his thumb, and pressed the invisible corner. Bishop and Cable had screwed up, and now they had to pay the price.  

            All of them disappeared in a flash of light, and hopefully everything would play out the way it always had, and always will.

            The next morning, when Robert Drake awoke, he found himself and his crew suffering from severe amnesia.  They could not remember how they came to be in Greece.  The past few weeks were a blur.  But when Drake saw that theCerebro was sailing when one of his scouts returned from flying around, he counted his blessings.  He had no mission, and a perfect opportunity to shoot down the ship of the less aggressive of his adversaries.

            "Rouse the other men!  We're setting out immediately!  I want that ship brought down!"

~*~

            After the kiss Gambit had given Rogue, he was asleep for three days.  After half a day Rogue began to worry, but cool words from Storm and questions regarding the men who had attacked them from those who had remained on the ship quickly erased the fears. 'Gambit will be up when he's ready,' they all assured her.  'The lummox is probably fine.  I bet you he's just staying in bed to be lazy.'

            When he did wake up, he found Rogue asleep by his chest. His tired gaze turned wide awake as he realized that she had fallen asleep while she had sat up watching over him. He toyed with the ends of her hair. That's twice they'd woken up together now.  He wished that he could wake her up nicely, perhaps by pulling her into his lap and kissing her until she responded, but that was impossible.

            Rogue muttered his name, and sighed.  When she said it a second time, she seemed to realize that it was real.  Her green eyes snapped open, and she stared at him.  His fingers didn't leave the tips of her soft hair.  "You're awake."  Then her eyes narrowed and she slapped him harshly.  Rogue didn't use any super strength to do it, but it was strong enough as it was to snap his head to the side.  "You jerk!"

            "Chere, what'd I do?" he demanded.  Then she told him that he had been asleep for three days.  Tears spilled from her eyes.  He reached out to dry her cheeks, and realized that he was only wearing his boxers.  He used a corner of his sheet to reach out and gently dry her cheeks. He was glad to see that she didn't shy away from him. "Pardonez moi. Rogue, I never meant to hurt you."

            "Ah know ya didn't, Cajun. But the problem is that Ah worry about ya.  Remy, maybe Ah should just leave," she said quietly.  "Ah've been thinkin' about that since before ya woke up.  Ah'm nothin' but trouble to ya, Remy."

            He cut her off. "Funny, but I seem to remember dat I was de one getting attacked in de streets, Chere.  And if you really are trouble, den you're worth it." Gambit wished he cold hold her, but he knew that was impossible.

            For the briefest of moments, he wondered if maybe she was correct, that she did belong off on her own.  But when she looked into Gambit's eyes, she knew that deep down she really belonged on a pirate ship.  She was, after all, a rogue.

            But Rogue didn't need to hear it.  Gambit wasn't good with words, he was good with actions, and she knew what was really in his mind.  She didn't need super powers to see it, it was purely visible in his eyes. He loved her.  Maybe his feelings were even strong enough to say that she was in love with her. And she returned his emotions with every piece of her being. Neither of them would stop until they had found a way to break her so called "gift" that kept them from being able to show that love in a physical way.

            She threw his jacket at him.  "Get dressed, Remy.  If ya feel up to it, we're finally at st1:placeMount st1:PlaceName Olympus.  Mystique says we're not going to go on until ya feel up to it, because we're gonna need your help.  Yergonna lead the team up to the top of the mountain." She smiled at him proudly.  "Ya feelin' hungry, Cajun?"

            His stomach rumbled, but still he said with a straight face, "No."  Remy grinned. He just wanted to relax in bed for a little while longer, even thought he had apparently been doing that for a while. But he could smell the treasure from the mountain.  He could practically hear gold and precious gems chiming in the air.  Though his heart told him to stay with Rogue, his mind told him to move, and his hands itched to grab the treasure he could smell.

            "All right, I'm getting up," he sighed.  Rogue ruffled his hair, as she couldn't give him a kiss on the cheek.  He stared at her, looking devilish with his hair like that.  When he blinked coolly, Rogue laughed at him.  "What?"

            She sighed, and made ready to leave the room.  "Nothing.  I'll tell you later, Cajun. There are leftovers in the galley for you."

           Gambit washed and dressed, and then ate as much food as he could without feeling ill. He may have slept three days, but he now felt as fit as a fiddle.  When Gambit came out on deck, the size of the mountain before him took his breath away.  They hovered just above the cloud line, so he couldn't tell how far down it was, but he knew that it still extended far above him.

            Katherine floated up next to him, quite literally. "It's pretty, isn't it?  I never thought that mountains were this big. It makes it easy to see how the ancients used to think gods lived up here.  On a day like today, they wouldn't have even been able to see the top."

            "Captain!"  Jean's shout cut off Gambit's reply.  The red head had been startled when Xavier suddenly lurched forward, holding his head and wincing in pain.  Everybody flocked around him, drawn by the curiosity of what could normally make such a stable person ache. "Captain Xavier, are you alright?"

            "Yes, Jean," Xavier winced again.  He looked up and spotted Gambit hanging around in the back of the crowd around him.  "Gambit, you're up.  We must hurry.  There's danger coming.  Captain Drake….."  

            Mystique frowned.  Bobby wouldn't be able to sail to the mountain like them, but they could still pose trouble. After all, they were mutants too.  She went right into action.  "The entrance is down at the base.  Wolverine, take us down. We'll have to divide up into teams. Half of us will stay out here and keep Drake at bay, the others will go in and get those items." She could feel Xavier's eyes on her.  "If we retreat now, Charles, Drake will know something's up and will not leave this site until he finds out what.  I don't know about you, Charles, but I didn't come this far to be scared by an ice cube!"

            "Agreed."  There was a long pause, and everyone could tell that the two were having a mental conversations, silently agreeing on whom should be going where.  The group held their breath.

            "Gambit," Mystique said.  "You will, obviously, be leading the team into the mountain.  Colossus, Katherine,Nightcrawler, and Rogue will go with them.  The rest of us will stay here."

            "Including Pyro and Angel?" Wolverine growled, wondering if they had been left out.

            Xavier smiled at him.  "Let them sleep.  We have Mystique's shape shifting ability, your strength, Jean's telepathy, Scott's eyes, your claws, old friend, and Storm's weather that will help to keep Drake and his pirates from getting the treasure first.  Storm, if you would be so kind, a thick fog should slow them down."

            The blue skinned mutant suddenly shifted, gaining the swift wings and sharp talons of a bird of prey.  Flapping her wings, she lifted off the ground, but when Xavier mentally asked her what she was doing, she drifted to the wooden railing and perched there for a moment.  Her eyes were still golden, and her gaze no less deadly as she looked at the other captain. He killed my old men, Charles.  He killed Lance and Pietro. I'm not going to let him get away with that.  She paused. Aren't you going to try and stop me, Charles?

            The man shrugged. His lips were tight, his face thoughtful, but there was a certain amount of respect in his eyes that nothing could ever hide or vanish when he talked about her. Raven was crafty and bloodthirsty, but she had a heart, and perhaps the rather unequal balance was what made him respect her even when he didn't like what she was doing.  "I doubt that I could stop you if you wanted, Mystique."

            Rogue watched as she flapped away, feeling suddenly forlorn.  She thought about the teams for a second.  They had Colossus' strength, Katherine to get them out of a tight squeeze, agility, Gambit's eyes and crafty senses, but what did she offer to the group?   Her ability to fly? Was that it?

            Gambit smiled at her, as if reading her mind.        "Don't 'tink about it too much,Chere. You might get a headache if you do. Nobody knows what goes on in Xavier's mind to let us know how it works, and why he does de tings he does. Let's suit up!"

"Gambit!" Kitty exclaimed, pursing her lips. "Are you sure that you're okay? Are you up to..."

They were the same questions that Rogue was asking herself. However, after seeing the glare that Gambit gave Katherine, the Southern girl was glad that she did not bring up the topic of whether or not he was fit enough to 

lead a team into the mountain. Even her glare wasn't as icy as that! Of course, his facial response did nothing to actually answer the question.

Five minutes later they were suited up and standing on the lip of the opening. The hole engulfed even Colossus, who had gone into his metal form prematurely. Gambit went in first, as he could see the best in the darkness, followed by Katherine, Colossus, Rogue, and Kurt to keep an eye on the darkness behind them. They moved slowly, allowing Gambit to get a feel for the cavern system.

Peter looked around them, and couldn't see a thing. "I have a bad feeling about this," the Russian grumbled.

"Shh!" Katherine silenced him. "You're never supposed to say that!"

The Cajun held up a hand for silence, and they stopped when he did. He smiled, but the only one who could really see it was Nightcrawler. Katherine knew he was smiling because she had known him for a long time, and Rogue simply knew. Scooping up a handful of dirt off the ground, he threw it in front of him, and suddenly an axe swung down from the ceiling, clicks in the darkness telling them that more of them were following suit, a hall of bladed pendulums blocking their route. 

"Ah blame their presence on Peter," the Southern belle teased.

Gambit grabbed Peter's hand and drew him forward, setting the large Russian in front of him. "D'accord, Peter. I want a middle strike, exactly when I say, compris?" Peter nodded. Gambit watched the pendulum swing, and then told Peter to strike when it hung in front of him. Faster than his size would have them believe, his fist pushed forward, shattering the first of the swinging pendulums. Gambit nodded approvingly, and then told Peter to take one and half steps forward. After figuring out what he meant by half a step, size wise, Peter took a step and half forward and punched again, on cue. Fifteen strikes later, the last of the pendulums were down, and Gambit led again.

Only a short while later, Gambit stopped them again. The floor was mosaic, and slanting shafts of light illuminated symbols and letters on each of them. "How do you suppose they have sunlight inside a mountain?" Katherine wondered out loud. 

"It's an old trick, Kitty," the Cajun replied, inspecting the floors, running a finger between the cracks. "They use mirrors."

"Oh... Hey, that's the symbol for Jupiter!" she exclaimed, sitting down beside Gambit, her fingers tracing the symbol that much resembled the off spring of the number four and a backwards letter 'L'. Katherine looked at the rest of the tiles were the mosaic floor started. "This represents Mars, and this one the moon, and that one that looks like a trident is Neptune. They're planetary symbols."

"For Roman named planets, Katzchen."

"But the Romans took the gods from Greece. I suppose they could have taken the symbols too."

Gambit pressed down on the symbol for Jupiter, and the tile crumbled and he nearly fell through the hole left by the broken tile. "Just as Gambit thought. De tiles need to be walked in de correct order, whatever that may be. De proper places have pillars underneath, and de incorrect ones..." He drew a finger across his throat to demonstrate what happened to those who stepped on the wrong tiles.

Katherine stood up and dusted off her clothes. "They're planetary symbols, used for astronomy. I bet I know what the correct order is. You have to put the planets all in order. It's going to be difficult. Everybody follow me. Gambit, stay close to Nightcrawler. He can teleport you if you slip. Rogue, since you have Peter's strength, you can grab him if he slips. Okay... the first planet is Mercury..." She stepped on the tile that looked very much like a female symbol but with horns, and she suddenly disappeared.

She reappeared a second later, floating, and she became tangible again once she was away from the hole she'd caused. Her cheeks went bright red. "Wrong tile." Her companions gave her a 'I can't believe we entrusted this girl with our lives' kind of look, and she didn't notice. Instead, she tentatively placed her foot on the tile that had a circle with the dot in the centre. When it didn't cave in, she stood upon it all the way, laughing nervously. "That was stupid of me. I should have known better than to start with Mercury. The Sun is the first planet, apparently. Then comes Mercury."

Little by little, and without any further mishaps, the group of five crossed the mosaic floor, and continued ahead. Rogue whispered with Gambit, and he was so distracted by her presence that he suddenly went through the floor. Rogue leapt after him, and managed to catch her wrist. Gambit looked down on the spikes that had almost pierced his body, and then up at the woman who had saved his life. The sunlight from above made her hair look like a halo. He smiled at her thankfully. "You make a good partner, Rogue. De traps are becoming harder to point out, even for me."

Rogue flew back up the shaft and placed him on the ground. "I can take care of this." She walked ahead of the first trap, and disappeared several times when the ground gave way beneath her, but each time her flying ability kicked in and she was unharmed. Katherine floated Colossus across the first trap, pausing behind each pit Rogue uncovered. Kurt grabbed Gambit and teleported, following suit.

"You know," Katherine pointed out while Rogue was dusting herself off and pulling hay out of her hair, grumbling something about the appalling conditions of the floor. "I don't think that a regular human could have done this. The mosaic floor was easy enough to get across with brains and balance, but fifteen swinging axes? Ten pits with spikes at the bottom? It's nuts."

Nightcrawler nodded. "I agree, Katzchen. I think zat these treasures vere meant for us mutants to find. And I stress the plural. It would be difficult for any single mutant to make their way through zes traps, even if zey were a teleporter like myself, or if zey had ze ability to phase like Katzchen."

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet," Gambit said, peering into the darkness. Their light had disappeared, hopefully only for a moment. Perhaps Storm was conjuring up a storm outside! But that thought made them worry about their companions. Drake had already killed two of their numbers, would there be a third? Or more? He shook his head and proceeded forward carefully. "Nobody is afraid of spiders, are dey?"

"Dare I ask why?" Rogue grumbled, walking forward with him. She knew why when she suddenly felt sticky cobwebs against her face. The feeling of repulsion this caused meant that she let out a tiny, feminine screech, which escalated when she felt the cobwebs she was frantically tearing away from her face get into her mouth. "Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew!! This is goddamn sick!"

There was a sudden clicking sound and the ground began to shake. Everybody froze, even Rogue, although she was certain the creeping feeling on her neck was a spider. Dust and small rocks feel from the sky. Katherine huddled next to Peter, as the small rocks didn't bother his metal skin. Rogue glanced at the spider web she had pulled at in her haste rid herself of the sticky substance, and swore. The spider web itself had been a trap! Then, Nightcrawler noticed what was happening first, as Gambit was trying to figure out how to get a very large spider off of Rogue's shoulder without getting bitten... by the spider or by Rogue.

"A wall is coming down!"

Peter's response was immediate. He lunged forward and took the slab of rock falling from the ceiling with both hands, bracing himself under it and against the wall. His friends were stupefied. "I can hold it," he promised, his accent thick from under pressure. "But you best be quick."

"Let it fall!" Katherine begged. "I can phase us through it afterwards!"

"Nyet, Katya. This, I think, is what Captain Xavier wanted me to do from the very beginning. Hurry up and find the treasures. I shall hold it until you return."

Gambit dragged Katherine forward, and she left him reluctantly. They continued forward and did not meet any more problems until they came to a dead end. Gambit cursed colourfully, and turned to Kurt. "You didn't see any other hallways or anything, did you, Kurt?" The German shook his head, and Gambit cussed again. "Katherine, take a deep breath, and phase to see if you find a way out of there."

Katherine phased through the wall, and Gambit kicked at it, wishing he could knock it down. The mountain shook again, and for the second time in who knew how long, the floor dropped out from underneath Gambit. In fact, it dropped out from under Nightcrawler and Rogue as well. The first was quick enough to teleport, but the second fell down the same narrow shaft as Gambit. The hole was so tight that Rogue could not start to use her powers in case she ran out of room and became trapped. As it was, she feared she would get stuck already, and that Katherine would be quick enough to return and phase them out of the trap. And there really, really weren't spiders in the shaft with her.

Suddenly, the ground was there to meet her and she skidded, and stopped moving. Gambit was right there with her. She was about to ask him if he was okay before she realized what she was staring at. The rabbit hole that had wound them around in dizzying circles had landed them into a huge cavern, one that had to make up most of the interior of Mount Olympus. And it was filled in piles that reached from floor to ceiling, in gold. Neither of them, even the second-in-command pirate himself, had not seen so much gold before, let alone in one place. There were dubloons, and raw gold, rings, crowns, tiaras, sculptures, anything one could imagine made out of gold was present.

His jaw dropped, and his fingers itched to touch the piles of gold. The last time they had itched this bad was... when was the last time he had wanted to scoop up Rogue and carry her off and have his way with her, in true pirate style? Oh yes, twenty seconds ago. "Dis is all real, right, Chere? I mean, I'm not imagining it, no?"

"My god, this is enough money to give everybody what they want. We could all retire right now, Remy." He helped her up, and then continued to hold her hand as they walked between the mountains of treasure. Rogue felt like she was in a daze. "Remy, we lost Kitty and Kurt."

"Dey can take care of themselves. Besides, I don't know how to get back up to where we were before. We might need to send a message to Captain Xavier, asking if Jeanie can float us in a rope. And as long as Katherine and Kurt are waiting at de top of de shaft for us, where dere shouldn't be any traps, we are perfectly safe down here. And then dey can always get us out of here together."

She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked hand in hand, neither of them really knowing where they were going. Rogue didn't have the feel for tunnels or mazes when it came to those involving treasures, and Gambit was distracted by glittering mountains and the Southern belle hanging off of him. "Whatever you do, don't touch any of the gold, Chere. It could be a trap in itself."

"Why don't Ah fly up there and see if Ah can't see ah door or something, ta give us a direction, Remy?" she asked, not particularly wanting to part with him, but she was already longing to see the outside: blue sky, fresh air.... away from tempting piles of gold and a sexy Cajun.... whatever.

Gambit nodded and Rogue flew up high, looking around. She didn't know how this particular cavern was lighted, but she could see clearly in all directions. "There's a door north of here."

They headed in that direction, and soon came across a large door that was taller than the piles of treasure they had walked hand in hand between to get there. Thanks to Rogue's stolen strength, they were able to push the doors open. And there, laying on a table of marble, were the gifts they had been searching for. Both of the mutants stared at them, overcome with emotion. They were speechless. But soon they turned to each other, crying out gleefully, wrapping their hands around each other in celebration. Gambit was sprouting things off in French faster than Rogue's mind could translate, even with some of Gambit's memories.

Slowly, they stopped dancing in a tight and dizzying circle and just held each other, their skin never touching. "Remy..." "Rogue...."

Just as Rogue began to feel as if she was being drawn into Remy's eyes, drawing closer and closer to him with each drawn out second, able to feel his breath on her lips, the click of a pistol stopped them from doing something incredibly stupid, but also something they desperately wanted to do. They turned, Gambit putting his body in front of hers, and found Drake standing there in front of them, a gun in one of his frozen hands.

"Isn't this cute?" he asked rhetorically, stepping closer, his cornered prey taking a step back in response. "A thief and a rogue together, and in love. And a mountain to be their crypt."

"How did you get by everybody?" Gambit demanded. "The captains, and the others."

"You know, as strong as people like Wolverine or Storm are, they can't do much when they are frozen stiff," Robert said with a careless shrug.

"So ya shot them, but yer gonna kill us with a gun? What the hell is up with that?"

He shrugged again. "I felt like a change. Besides, I have no fight with either of you, so the least I can do is give you both a painless death. A relatively painless death, anyway. The crew of the Cerebro on the other hand, can be handed in for a bit of a profit here or there, as long as the peasants of the world don't find out. But as for Mystique, or Wolverine, they have a lot to answer for. I'll have fun making them feel as much pain as I have over the years, especially thanks to Wolverine's healing factor. As for the kitten, the freak and the Russian, well, I'll leave it up to your imagination."

A blast of sound filled the cavern, so loud in the huge space that the tinier pieces of gold fell from their places. A weight hit Rogue as Gambit stumbled, and even through her gloves she could feel slick warmth as she caught his body. "Remy? Remy?!" She laid his body on the ground, staring at a red spot in his stomach that grew, each heartbeat bringing him closer to death and Rogue closer to tears. She didn't want to start crying in front of him, but she couldn't help it. Gambit's covered fingers dried her cheeks gently, as she brushed his hair. He managed to smile at her, but then the second shot rang out, and Rogue registered her head falling unto his chest, and then there was nothing.

~*~

AN:  I also apologize for the cliffhanger.  *twisted grin*


	11. Chapter Eleven

AN: I worked hard to get the next chapter out.  I was going to make it longer, but instead of leaving that cliff hanger hanging there, I decided that I should just get the next chapter up. *shrugs*  So, it's only six pages, but I'm never really one for battle scenes.  Hope you guys like it!

Ishandhalf: *ducks the pointed look*  I blame it all on my muse!  She left my for Thunder Bay!! I like all of Indy, but the had is a very fine touch.  This one doesn't really have much of a cliffhanger, so I hope you won't start calling me evil after it.  How could fluff be evil?  You know what's evil?  THE COLD.

Tammy:  How could I give a pirate story a sad ending?  *remembers that in the 17th C most pirates died because they couldn't swim*  Oh yeah…

Danfed:  please, annoy me with reviews!  Annoy me with emails!  Find me on MSN and demand that I start writing! (Unless I'm studying for geology.  That's when you pat me on the back and tell me I'm a good girl!)  The one person who used to yell at me to write it kidnapped my muse and went to go live somewhere else, so now all I have are days like this where it's cold out and I'm like: hm.  I think I would rather write fanfics than go to school. (-50 degrees Celsius outside).

Caliente: I am so sorry for worrying you!  I know exactly how that feels!  *grovels* And thank you!  At least somebody understands that story lines can be screwed up and characters can be rearranged and placed wherever the author wants them!  (I mean, in one Excalibur, the author wrote himself and his team in….)

Mag carter:  There's a couple of fluff bunnies running around, and I swear that any time I watched Indianna Jones, I was not watching the temple scenes…. I was drooling over Harrison Ford.

Mysterious fan Girl:  Because I had writer's block and at the time it was as far as I could take it.

Samm16:  I may or may not have dreams of adventuring with him in some for off place.  Like Japan.  I like Japan.  Or of stealing his had.  Frankly, deep down, I'd prefer being Indianna Jones.  And Sean Conenry has an amazing voice.  When I was little, The Last Crusade was the only Indy movie I was allowed watching.  I watch it whenever I can now. *giggles*  I learned my very first writer's trick from that movie.  X never marks the spot.  And thank you.  That really hit the spot.  

*hugs each and every one of her reviewers*  You guys are really awesome.  Here's Chapter Eleven!  Sadly, we're still in the action domain, but I tried to put some fluff and comedy in there!

Chapter Eleven

            Rogue's head pounded as she woke up.  It felt like somebody was hammering on her head.  She slowly lifted it, her neck cracking as she did so.  Rogue slowly discovered that the sound pounding in her brain was laughter, and rather cruel laughter.  There was a dull ache in her stomach.  She rubbed it, and she felt the strange warmth on her hands again.  There was a hole in her shirt.  It was covered in blood.

            But her skin was unbroken.

            'What the hell?'  Then she remembered how she had asked Logan to touch him, trying to absorb his healing factor.  Rogue had thought she had failed.  Apparently she hadn't.  She didn't have control of her powers, but at least she had the power to kind of direct them.  It had felt like she had been trying to thread the eye hole of a needle, blind.  It was far from perfect, but if it meant that she could kiss Remy without….

            Remy.

            She was too scared to scream his name, and the word sat in her stomach, choking her.  There was so much blood!  He didn't have a healing ability.  He would not be okay.

            No.  Not Remy.  Anyone but Remy.

            Hovering over his body, she was going to do something, do anything, but then she recalled the voice.  She recalled the hand of ice that had pulled the trigger, and the hands that held her would-be lover shook in anger.  'That bastard.  That goddamn rat bastard!  I'm going to kill him!  I'm going to tear him limb from limb!'

            Gently placing his body back on the ground, Rogue turned away from Remy, his blood still wet on her hands.  She began advancing on the captain, slowly beginning to levitate in anger.  No wonder he wasn't able to hear her until she had spoken.  "Ya picked tha wrong gal to mess with, Popsicle boy."

            His hand flew to the gun at his waist, ice widening.  "Don't you stay dead?"  His other hand pushed back the crown he wore on his head.  Rogue recognized it from Kitty's projection of the treasures of the gods.  The glittering diamond at the top proved why he had gone for that one.  She heard the clicking of the pistol and ran for the u-shaped table that carried the gifts.

            The fool.  The stupid fool.  He didn't know about the gifts.  He didn't know how to use them, or what they were for. Otherwise, he would have gone for the same one she had, the one that really held all the power.  The bullet missed her.  She had moved when he had taken a moment of surprise before firing when he saw that her feet weren't touching the ground.  Her hair whipped about as she drew the _gladium_, the short sword, from the scabbard.  Kitty had translated it wrong. It wasn't a dagger, it was a Roman sword, and the power she felt when she held it was enough to make her scream.

            She dropped it, hissing in pain as she fell to her knees, landing back down on the ground.  Her hand was burned, and badly.  Drake laughed at her, thinking she was not strong enough to hold such a weapon of power.  He took aim again.  This time, he would not miss.

            Rogue grabbed the sword again, and with a speed that was almost beyond even that of mutant powers themselves, severed the weapon in half.  This time the feeling the had wound up her right arm was one of dull fire, a pleasant ache that filled her with power.  The sword, she almost felt, had accepted her.  Was it, she found herself wondering, the need to protect herself rather than for revenge that now allowed her to hold the sword, that made the gladium feel so perfectly suited in her hand?

            She recalled the stories that the Greeks had told of Aries.  Unlike the Roman version of Mars, their god of war had been a coward who slunk off to either his sister Hera or his lover Aphrodite whenever he was injured.  Was it, perhaps, her bravery that allowed the sword to help her?

            Either way, she grinned, knowing that the powers of the weapon were now under her command, fully and completely.  The sword seemed to sing as she pointed it at Drake.  Rogue loved it.

           Green eyes narrowing, they seemed to glow with vehemence from behind her white bangs.  "Ya shot him, ya coward.  And ya shot me too.  Think ya can make me bleed again in a fair fight?"  She gestured to the sword at his hip.  Rogue knew she was being unfair: he was going to do, no matter what.  She held Mars' sword.  Nothing could hurt her, and even though she knew very little about how to fence, the sword's power would see to that.  But let him think he had a chance.  

            Turn about was fair play, after all.

            "If ya don't wanna fight, ya'll can just leave.  Ah don't want more people to die here.  But if ya decide ta stay, Ah can guarantee that I'll mark you up once for every single one of mah friends that ya killed."

            He drew his sword, growling in anger.  "I never run from a fight!"

            Robert lunged at her, and a sudden sense of calm washed over Rogue's mind.  She knew exactly what to do, and was reacting even before she realized that she knew how to block.  Block she did, and she reacted quickly to counterattack.  Suddenly, there was blood on the end of her sword, and the song it hummed in the air grew louder.

            He stumbled back, clasping his upper arm.  He snarled at her.  She really did make him bleed!  None too quick on the uptake at times, Bobby realized she was holding one of the treasures he had come to collect as his pick-me-up.  He swore at her, livid, spitting at her feet.  Around him, the air suddenly seemed to crackle with electricity.  "I have one of those as well.  And soon… I'll have two!"

            She realized what he was doing only after he picked up the scepter, using it like a second sword.  Rogue struggled to remember what it was.  What was its power?  Walking on water.  Well, that wouldn't be of any help to him.

            A bolt of lightning crashed down where she had just been standing.  The scepter might not be of any help to Bobby, but the crown was a bit dangerous, and now he had one more weapon than her!  Rogue lunged for the table and grabbed the shield of Artemis.  Hadn't Kitty said that it would make the barer impenetrable? 

'Yes, yes she had.  But why is that of any use to me?  I have Logan's healing power.  Because now he can't even cut you.  You are now built more solidly than Peter in his organic steel form.  Had I continued to use Logan's healing abilities, I would have been drawing on my own power.  Eventually, I would have used it up.  It would take a really long time, but eventually I'd start getting tired.  And the shield will protect against the lightning too.  Electrocution… nasty business about burning organs involved there.'

The sword warned her of a downswing and she blocked the scepter with the shield, blocking the sword with her own.  Her shield arm shook with the force of the impact, but she was unhurt, and amazingly, the shield didn't even have a scratch from the scepter.  But why was her head so filled with these thoughts?

Then she remembered that the shield was one of the treasures that in fact held two gifts.  She now had wisdom as well, and Rogue, a mutant who was apt at using more than one talent to the fullest of their abilities, put her own talents to good use over the gifts.  'As far as swordsmanship go, I have a slight upper hand.  I'm better than he is, so long as I am holding this sword.  And he can't hurt me with the shield, but all the other gifts…'  She glanced at the table.  'There are some that he can use to hurt me, so my upper hand really lies in the fact that I know which ones to go for.  He doesn't.'

Blocking more attacks, she cut him once more, and she pointed her weapon her way.  "That was for Cyclops, ya bastard.  And it's a rather nasty cut, ain't it?  Just think: Ah don't even like Scott! Imagine how Ah'm gonna cut ya when Ah get to the people Ah did like, to the ones Ah respected and admired, like Wolverine, Kurt, Xavier, Mystique, and Remy!"

His name was so natural to her that she didn't even realize she had used the thief's real name.

Rogue's gaze flickered back to the table, her eyes landing on two identical gifts.  Those two were the ones that she needed to be careful of.  Maybe he wouldn't go for the crowns of Hades because he was already wearing something on his head, but what would make an egomaniac happier than being able to wear two crowns?  One crown would kill him, and only aid her purpose, though not her threat to make him bleed.  A lot.  But the other crown could cost her the fight.  If Drake managed to turn invisible, then what was to stop him from disarming her, and then killing her, going about the messy business of stabber or shooting repeatedly.

Dear God, maybe he'd just chop off her head.

Too much wisdom could be a bad thing, sometimes.

He grabbed the barrette… and then he stared at it.  Where the hell was man made of ice supposed to put a barrette?  But he managed to put it somewhere, because the nest thing he knew, he was floating.  No, he was actually flying, just like Rogue.  The both grinned cockily.  This was going to be amusing.

Rogue barely had time to grab a random gift from off the table before she dodged an attack that came from the top of the cavern.  She immediately turned around, lunging an attack now that she had the upper position.  The battle was changed again.  Now it was also a contest to see who could get the highest.  The higher the individual flew, the better he was able to attack.  It was easier moving down than up, after all.

Moving up as fast as she could –which was very fast, as Mars' sword ensured she had better speed- she hit herself behind a stalactite and looked at the gift she held.  A belt.  A belt.  Right, it belonged to Artemis.  She swore quietly.  She had been too hasty, grabbing just any random gift like that!  This was one of the ones she had wanted to try and maneuver him into taking.  It would be another useless gift for him, as it only worked for women.

Ah, well!

She drove the sword into the stalactite she hid behind to throw on the belt.  Her senses immediately became more acute.  They warned her of the attack that was coming from behind her, but it was too late for even a speed demon like Rogue now was to move.  She gasped when she felt the point of the sword move through her abdomen, and stared in horror as the sword came out of her stomach.

Her weight pulled on the sword, and it came free again.  Damn it!  He out another hole in her favorite shirt!

Wait a minute…

Wasn't she supposed to be impenetrable?

And one other gosh-darn second…

How come the blade was clean?

She flew away from him, and the color drained from Robert's face.   It was an impressive display of surprise, given the fact that he was made of ice.

She wasn't impenetrable because she was tough, like Colossus, it was because she was built like Katherine.  His weapon would go right through her.  Only this phasing was much better than Katherine's.  Rogue could still breath and…. She didn't try to figure out the logistics of it all.

But his paling had given her a hint.  There was something… some gift that might be able to help her more than a sword or a shield ever could.   But did light also include heat?  There was only one way to find out.

Kicking back her feet, she literally dove around the table.  Forget the fact that she wouldn't be able to make him suffer!  Be the bigger woman and put him out of his misery!  Besides, she had forgotten all about the most important gift of all: the Caduceus!  She could bring them back, if she was quick enough to find their bodies before their souls left them.

'And damn it, if that Cajun gives up on us and decides to go off cavortin' with angels, I'm going to follow him to the next and drag his dirty ass soul back down here so that I can kill the lech all over again!' 

Robert was in shock at her actions, and followed after her, even though she didn't know what she was planning on doing.  He was going to descend on her like a bird of prey.  He was going to tear those weapons from her and rip her limb from limb.

She could hear his breathing, her wolverine-like senses already alert that he was on her heels.  She grabbed the ring from the table and dropped her sword, hoping that this worked, because if it didn't, she would have to get the sword back very, very quickly.  Jamming it on her finger, she pointed it at Robert.  Please, please, let the citron be like a real sun!  All she needed was a little bit of heat.  A little bit of heat and she would be free to save her friends…

Her family…

Remy.

Like the other treasures, her need brought out the power and the gold ring on her hand began to glow.  It grew warm, but not uncomfortably so.  But as the brightness increased, so did the heat. She was satisfied to see the look of horror in his eyes when he realized what she was doing.

He was melting.

Rogue grinned, still floating in the air, slowly rising as Drake sank to his knees, trying to gather himself up as water trickled down his body.  

Nothing could ever withstand the power of the ring…. Or the sun.  Like all things in nature, Robert succumbed to the power of nature, and soon, all that was left was a puddle. 

Falling to her knees, she pulled off the ring, wincing when she realized she was burned.  Rogue knew that Nightcrawler was intrigued by the prospect of controlling the sun, but damn, his furry little body would surely catch on fire if he wore and used a ring like that!  She placed it back down on the table and picked up the staff entwined with the snake.  The eyes of the snake glittered, and she wondered how she could make them give up their secrets.

The wisdom of Athena's shield again came to her aid, swiftly and curtly.  'Look at my hand.'  The wound was gone.  Just holding it was enough.

She ran to Gambit's body and took his hand, wrapping the cold appendages around the caduceus.  Tears stung her green eyes, and she shook them away.  He wasn't dead yet.  He wouldn't die on her! She placed his hand over his chest, over the wound that the gun had formed, and leaned over him.

"Come on, Remy."  She watched in awe as the wound began to close, but he gave no sign of waking up.  She brushed his dark bangs.  His skin was getting warmer, why wasn't he waking up?  Why wasn't he waking up and saying something flirtatious to her, so that she could smack him and everything would be back to normal?  She ran her hands down her cheeks, her gloves accidentally leaving behind a trail of his blood as she did so.

Rogue wanted to hold him close, but to touch him now….

            Something rubbed against her backside, dipping from the ends of her hair to below her beltline.

            Terrified that it was something creepy, she was almost relieved to see that his other hand was what was rubbing her ass so gingerly.  Rogue clenched her fist and bashed him good on the head.  "Goddamn it, Remy!  Only someone like ya could come ta the edge of death and come back being a pervert before ya even open your eyes."

            With a soft smile that was absent of any pain from his now healed wounds, he looked up at her, his red eyes quickly becoming ablaze with the passion to hold her, and kiss her, and tell her that everything was alright.  It was now, thanks to her.  "I opened my eyes, Chere.  Can Gambit be a pervert now?"

            "Are ya feeling okay now?" she asked, still stroking his hair.  He snuggled up against her, slipping his head into her lap and enjoying her touch.

            "Oui, Chere."  He smiled up at her.  "But it still hurts here.  And here.  Think you could kiss it better?"

            She rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Ya really like ta flirt with death, don't ya, Remy?"

            "No.  I like to flirt with you."

            She snorted and pulled the snake-entwined staff from his grasp and leapt up, letting his head fall sharply to the rock floor.  "Well, if yer lucid enough to come up with a corny line like that, then ya must be okay."  She picked the ring back up again, wincing when she recalled how much it would eventually hurt to use it, but at least the Caduceus could heal her finger.  "Ah have things to do.  Ya stay here.  I'll be back soon."

            Rogue popped back up through the trapped floor, her uniform covered in dirt from all the times she had banged into a turn in the trap.   She groaned, dropping herself back in the ground and shaking the dirt from her hair.  Then she heard someone shout her name and a soft body ran into her.

            She looked down to see Katherine, looking just as smudged and worn, and worried.  Rogue smiled for the girl, but Kitty was too busy clinging to her and trying hard not to cry to notice the friendly smile.  "Oh, Rogue!  We were so worried about you!"

            "Ah was fairly worried about all of y'all too, Kitty," she admitted to the small girl.  A hand clasped down on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Nightcrawler.  Her smile turned relieved.  "Captain Drake found gambit and Ah, right after we found tha gifts.  He said that he had frozen y'all."

            "Drake?"  Kurt's yellow eyes narrowed.  "Vhat happened?  Vhere is he now?"

            "Dead.  Ah killed him."  The two stared at each other, and then decided to tell each other later.  Kurt wanted the whole story, but Rogue had things to do first.  With Gambit trapped downstairs, she was the only one on the surface that knew what had passed.  Almost.  "Anyway, like Ah said, Drake said that he had frozen y'all.  If that ain't true, then where in tha world were ya two pirates hiding?"

            Katherine blushed.  "Kurt teleported randomly into the wall, and got stuck.  I had to find him and phase him out.  Not a pleasant experience for both of us, let me tell you.   but together we managed to map what's behind the slab of rock, and there's nothing.  Obviously the fake wall is just a decoy, as you found the treasure." She pointed to the Caduceus.

            Rogue nodded.  "So y'all are both okay?"  Her companions said yes, and she looked at Katherine.  "Kurt, Gambit's down the chute.  He got kinda injured.  He's all right now, and ya can probably teleport him up.  It would be safer than mah trying ta carry him.  He's rather heavy, and that chute's pretty small.  Kitty, ya can come with me.  Drake said that he froze some people, and so, we've got to unfreeze him.  If Ah can't melt the ice, then maybe ya might be able to pull them out."

            They hurried along, until the came to the door that Peter had said he would hold open.  Then Rogue wished that she had sent Kitty to get Gambit.  The tin man was still holding up the door, but there was a fine layering of ice over his metal skin.  Drake hadn't been lying when he said that he had frozen some people.

            Clenching the hand that held the gold and citron ring, Rogue knew that she had her work cut out for her.


	12. I want You, I want To

AN: Well, only 2.5 essays to go before I can relax a bit more… and start studying for final exams.  It took me awhile, but it's finally here, the last chapter of Mutants, Heirs of the Gods!  All right, _maybe_ there might be an epilogue, although, yeah, once you get to the ending, it doesn't seem to need one, but it was kind of hard to end on a fluffy note, so I might do an epilogue just so that I can write Rogue and Gambit fluff.  And whoa, what a run on sentence!  

Thank you to everybody who stuck with me, especially to those who helped me up when I got flamed.    Bastard didn't even give me an email address so I could explain myself.  But one bad apple shouldn't ruin the pie, and indeed it hasn't, as I managed to sit down and finish this story finally.  It's been a long time coming, and the ending seems abrupt, especially for one of mine, but the bad guy's been defeated, so all that's left is wrapping everything up.  A special thanks to Johnny Depp, just because he was an awesome pirate and be Gambit in my mind any day.

Tammy: According to my history teacher, no, most sailors couldn't swim. Hence why they drowned; yup, forget pirates, drowning killed more sailors than anything else…. Except for, you know, things like sun stroke, heat stroke, and scurvy.

Caliente:  I wish I could have done more random character introductions, but, unfortunately… I was actually running out of a plot line. -_-

Ishandahalf:  Whoo!  It's was plus seven today!  I hate winter, but do I ever love laughing at the snow when it melts.  (No, really, I laugh at it!)  'Kicked Iceboy's ass'?  Damn it, I so totally should have used that as one of Rogue's lines!

Danfred: Aw, I love you. ^^  It's reading things like that that don't make me feel so bad when I have to write the next fight scene.  (And so, one asks oneself, just how insane am I?  Well, I'm so insane, the next fight scene I have to write involves the seven dwarves… And this is the fight scene that comes after one where a girl rides around on a jaguar as if she were bloody He-Man riding that tiger… whatever his name is….)

To all those who thought Remy would die: Who? Me? Kill off somebody?  Only when they're bad, because needless death is a waste of a good character.

Samm16: No, your parents are normal. Mine are overprotective, though they have good reason to be.  I got scared at Hook (which is somehow my favorite Dustin Hoffman movie, and my number 2 Robin Williams move, because nothing can beat Dead Poets Scoiety!!).  And The Abyss.  And E. T.  And Flight of the Navigator… which is also now one of my favorite movies…. Anywho, yeah, I'm a wuss and your parents are normal.

Mag Carter:  Yea!  I helped to save a fluff bunny!!  I want to make pins!

Irony1:  Um… well, if you can suggest a plot…. *winces*  And if I can find time next year with 6 courses instead of just 5….

Kiki: How did I come up with a plot?  Easy.  I read an X-Men comic where Katherine tells a story where they're all pirates.  Then I threw in a quest, added a  bit of pixie dust, got my friend to beat me when I stopped writing which meant most of this was done at 2 am while I was high on caffeine and watching movies, and then I saw X-Men 2, and decided that Bobby needed to be the bad guy because… Bobby and Rogue?  What the hell is up with that?  Add Gambit and Bishop because what's X-Men without time travel, and add in a fight scene or two, and the end. We have a plot.

Which basically translates into:  Plot?  What plot?  The voice in my head told me to do everything!

Maehder:  Aw, I miss you!

Selene:  I only write stories where girls are heroes.  ^^  Why do barbarians need to save the day?  We can be just as strong!  Okay, maybe the first statement isn't completely true, but I will argue to prove you wrong!   And writer's block does suck.  It sucks even more when it's for an essay.

Enjoy, and remember:  Johnny Depp was nominated for an Oscar, but LOTR had a clean sweep, so wherever you are, sleep well, mon ami, because the geeks will not be out to get you!

*Not to say anything bad about geeks… I am one…  Actually, I am a freek, a combination freak and geek, but I digress….

Oh, and another note.  Please remember that this fic is AU, and so, anything goes, and in this world, Mystique is NOT related to Rogue which means that Kurt is NOT Rogue's brother. Thank you. *bows*

Chapter Twelve: I Want You, I Want To

            The Caduceus healed her hand as soon as she used the ring.  Rogue still couldn't help but wince.  There was a certain amount of creepiness that came from feeling her finger burn and heal all at the same time.  The ice melted off of Colossus and he almost lost the door when he suddenly became reanimated.  He caught it again, and then lost it for a second time when Katherine threw herself into his lap.

            "Kitty, dy'a think Kurt has enough power to make it back carrying Gambit by himself?" she asked, relieved to watch her curl up against him like the animal her nickname suggested.

            The brown haired girl frowned, thinking.  "I don't really know.  Carrying other people takes more energy.  Kurt's strong, but that's a lot of weight, and he's already done it once already.  I want to say yes, but if he pushes himself too hard, the results could be disastrous."

            Rogue nodded, agreeing.  She was touched by Katherine's devotion to her friends.  Katherine had a level-headed way of looking at things that Rogue couldn't quite understand.  When she thought of her friends getting hurt, Rogue just got pissed.  She knew Katherine was the same way, but she was able to keep that anger in as long as she could, to formulate a good plan, and then she would throttle people.  "Okay.  Peter, let the door go ahead and fall.  Your system received quite a shock and will need a chance to recover.  Kitty will phase you through it when Kurt shows up.  Come back together.  I need to go and thaw out the others.  Kitty, will it weaken you too much if I copy your phasing ability?"

            She thought a second and then shook her head.  "I should be okay."  The next thing the girl knew, Rogue had pressed a finger against her forehead, and then turned and left, phasing through the wall.  Katherine stared up at Colossus and climb out from over him, letting the large young man climb out from under the falling door and lean on the cold rock wall.  Katherine pounced him again.  "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

            On the other side of the wall, Rogue hid a laugh as she heard Peter try and defend himself to a very pissed of kitten.  She kicked up her heels and took off, flying through the whole obstacle course and phasing through the moving pendulums.  She found the phasing was rather fun, but she felt a pang of sadness as she flew outside.  Katherine's mutant powers was just another on the long list of ones she had already gained.  How many more was she to gain before she reached her fill and didn't risk absorbing Gambit?  Was there even a limit?

            The sun blinded her as she zoomed from the mouth of the cave.  Rogue blinked, trying to get her eyes to adjust.  Clasping her hand and feeling the ring still securely on her finger, she cursed up a storm when she saw the work that still needed to be done.

*~*

            "You rubbed her ass?  And Rogue didn't kill you all over again?"  Gambit and Kurt triumphantly walked to the dinning room aboard the Cerebro.  The furrier one chuckled.  "Ah, mein Gott, I would have loved to have seen that, Gambit!"  Kurt smiled as he walked in and took a seat beside from Katherine, who returned it wholeheartedly.

            The Cajun took a seat next to Rogue, his covered fingers ruffling her hair in greeting.  He tried to contain himself when he saw that the dining room table was lined with the gifts that had started the two collections of pirates out on their journey in the first place.  The gold of course, had already been divided up, and Gambit felt like he was still flying from knowing how much gold was tucked between his mattresses.

            Xavier sat at the head of the table, Mystique at the other.  "We have been going over how to divide up the gifts over and over again, trying to decide who gets what.  We have finally come to a decision.  Please, respect the choices we have made.  If you have a complaint, hold it back.  This decision was out of your hands and was up to us to decide.  We have tried to do so based upon how people had acted, and with what you told us when we asked you what you would like to do next.

            "First, Scott and Jean Grey, congratulations on your retirement.  I was enthralled to hear that Jean was with child."

            Scott beamed, and shook Xavier's hand.  "Thank you very much, Captain.  If it's a boy, I hope to name it after you, sir."  

            "Brown noser!" Gambit coughed into his hand, sending smiles to the faces of all those who agreed.  The only one of their ranks who agreed and did not smile was Katherine, who was busy trying to wonder how Scott had actually managed to get laid in the first place, let alone that he actually knew how to do it so that Jean ended up pregnant.  Personally, she hoped they had a girl like Jean so that the poor redhead didn't have to put up with two dickheads running around.

            The male Captain ignored it all.  "Next, Mystique, Wolverine and I would like to announce of our own retirements."  There were sad looks and groans of disappointment from all around the table.  Rogue was sure that Cyclops' was fake.  "Now, now, we all know that this had to happen sooner or later.  Mystique and Wolverine have been pirates for some time now, and we all know that they get bored if they don't continue moving."

            "Face it, I'm looking forward to just going and relaxing on my island," Mystique grinned.  Her gold eyes flickered to the members of her pirate crew.  "You are welcome to come and visit me though.  I would be hurt if you didn't."

            Katherine snickered at the comment, but silenced when the blue-skinned captain pierced her with her gold gaze.  She had been serious!  Who would have thought it possible when the woman was normally so moody and controlling?  Kitty turned to the other captain, blushing when her gaze went by Wolverine.  "But, Captain, you just got the Caduceus.  You've been looking for it for a long time!  Aren't you even going to take it and use it?"

            He shook his head.  "Not after learning how it works.  It heals anything that is wrong with you the moment you hold it.  In my current predicament, I don't think that's the wisest of choices for me to make.  Should it heal my legs, I may be led astray from the life I have started myself on and I would become the ruffian I was when I was your age, Katherine.  I have been that person once; I need not be them again.  If, on the other hand, it fails, I shall never know and will not be disappointed."

            Wolverine stared hard at Kitty, and then he snorted.  "Hey, Runt, you'll be just fine, so stop looking so scared."  He shot Peter a look that warned if he heard the large man had hurt Katherine in anyway, there would be hell to pay.  Seeing the same look on Rogue's face as Katherine had, Wolverine shot Gambit the same warning glance.  Gambit was too deliriously happy to notice.

            "That being said, it means that we're going to need to do some shuffling around.  First and foremost, do you all want to stay where you are, being thieves or playing hero?" Xavier asked, looking around the table at their faces.

            Gambit and Rogue looked at each other.  If they couldn't find a way to touch, it would be torture working along side one another.  Yet if they parted and Rogue learned how to control her powers and could never find him again, she would be just as miserable!  She tapped her fingers on her chin.  "Ya know, Cajun, if we can't touch, Ah guess it just means we'll have ta be all tha more creative."

            The male pirate grinned at her.  "Gambit can do dat, Chere."

            Storm leaned around the table to look at Wolverine.  He glanced back at her, his dark eyes revealing no secrets.  Storm slowly smiled.  She could deal with having to learn to guess at them.  He winked at her and she felt her cheeks grow warm.  Sitting back up properly, she made her decision.  "I think I shall join you and our two other pirate friends in desisting from playing hero and thief.  My powers can be put to better use elsewhere."

            "Like in Wolvie's bed," someone growled.  Wolverine immediately retorted by extending his metal claws and threatening to hurt the next person who said such a thing.

            John said nothing.  He liked his job: sleep all day, keep an eye out at night, and then go back to sleep.  Angel, on the other hand, decided to retire as well, saying he didn't know where his Lady Fair had run off too and he wanted to find her.  

Katherine tried to keep the idea of Angel and white horses from her mind as she looked up at Peter.  She didn't want to leave him, or be considered an enemy.  She could give up the idea of owning her own plot of land if Mystique was going to let them visit the island, and she could always change her mind.  She was learning a lot from being on the pirate ship, and somehow she knew that if she stayed, she would be able to learn tomes more.  Peter put his hand on hers, and she decided.  "I don't need to steal anymore.  I have enough, and living on _The Cerebro_ means that I will be able to live for pretty much free, right? So it's not like I'll need money anyway.  If I do, there's always the money I have already saved up."

Kurt's tail twitched.  He had found camaraderie on both ships, people accepting him for what he was and not what he looked like.  He didn't really care where he was, as long as he was amongst friends.

Xavier looked at Gambit and Rogue.  This was exactly the type of thing that he had been hoping for.  "As for you two, what do you feel like doing?  Do you feel like playing hero, or continuing being thieves?"

This took a lot of consideration, on both their parts.  They wanted to stay together, but…. "Gambit be de King of Deives," he pointed out.  "I don't dink I can stop bein' a dief.  But… if I gave up what I get, den I'm still bein' one, aren't I?  I say we go for it."  Rogue nodded.  It was time to start putting to rest the ideas that had fed people like Robert Drake.  They couldn't do that if they continued to be self-interested only.  Stealing was still stealing, but maybe if they did it for a good cause, they could at least start to make some headway.

Mystique and Xavier exchanged looks. The female captain leaned back proudly in her chair, her muscles rippling and teeth flashing.  "Wonderful then.  This is precisely what we'd hope would happen.  You have enough people for one fairly large crew.  You may use _The Raven_.  She's smaller, faster, more maneuverable, and most of you are already familiar with her.  Except for Colossus, obviously."  The large young man nodded his head in agreement.  "Which means that it's time to play around with the rankings.  Colossus, you have Wolverine's old job.  Katherine and John, you get to keep your old jobs.  As for Rogue, Gambit, and Kurt, this took much consideration, but I believe that, thanks to the help of an old student of mine, we managed to nicely correct the problem.

"As I am retiring, the position of Captain is passed down to second of command.  And although 'Captain Gambit' sounds ridiculous in my opinion, there's nothing much I can do about that.  So, Gambit becomes captain.  Usually the old one would suggest a few men to fill the second-in-command position, and I have a suggestion that I sincerely hope that Gambit takes up.  I propose both Kurt and Rogue take the position."

The two in question looked at each other.  "Us?"  Kurt had hoped for such an honor, but could scarce believe he would have it.  He had always assumed that Mystique would pick someone else to avoid the theory that she had picked him not because of his talents but because he was her son.  It seemed she was going to stay true to nature and not give a damn about what people said.  Rogue, on the other hand, never imagined that she was going to be able to get this type of chance, especially when her first duty on board had been to cook food, but something told her that Mystique had had this plan swirling in her mind for quite some time.

"Yes, you.  Kurt has knowledge of the ship and experience.  He already knows how the job is meant to be run.  Sadly, Kurt is slightly too friendly.  The second in command is not only the voice of the ship, which is what Kurt shall be, but also the hand that keeps people in control, which is what Rogue shall be.  A glare from her as had the same affect on you boys as one of mine.  Rogue is also able to keep Gambit from getting too big for his breeches, keeping everyone on the ship safer.  The only thing that you two must be cautious of is your growing relationship.  Learn to keep work and play separate, understand?  Leave work at the door to your bedroom, otherwise you will end up in misery."

Gambit and Rogue nodded.  "Yes, Sir!"

Xavier smiled.  "Well then, I suppose this means that it is time to divide up the gifts.  Firstly, the Caduceus, the jewel of my quest, shall go with you.  It is at everybody's disposal.  Please, use it to help people.  The sword of Mars, it seems, is about as stubborn as our good friend Wolverine, and has already selected its owner."

Rogue touched the hilt of the short sword at her waist.  She didn't know why the sword had chosen her, only that it burned everybody else if they tried to pick it up.  Perhaps it was because of the same nature that had made Mystique suggest her for second in command.

"The crown of Zeus shall go to Nightcrawler.  We know that you wanted the ring of Apollo, so we hope that you will instead be gracious enough to accept the powers of thunder and lightning.  Lightning is, after all, a very brief flash of light.  Jean Grey, we are giving you the crown of Hera.  We hope that you might be able to control it and that maybe it might help you tap into your own personal powers.  If you abuse its power, however, I will know."

"I understand, Captain.  Thank you, sir," she said, blushing as red as her hair.

"Peter, you may have the aquamarine.  But don't rely on it too much.  Learn to conquer your fear of water on your own."

He also went as red as Jean Grey's hair.  "Yes, sir."

"Gambit…."  The thief leaned forward, hoping for one of the gifts he had dubbed 'good'.  He was sorely disappointed when Charles smiles and said, "You get the shield of Athena.  Hopefully, its wisdom will help curb some of your rashness."  Gambit was only slightly consoled when Rogue patted his hand and muttered for him to stop swearing.

"Logan, you get the citron," Mystique continued.  "The heat of it causes some burn marks, and your healing factor will clear those up for you right away.  Katherine, you get the belt of Artemis.  But it will only last as long as you're a virgin."  She arched an eyebrow at them and then at Rogue.  "Perhaps we should have given that one to Rogue."

Both girls blushed.  "Captain!!"

"I kid, I kid!  I get the cup of Bacchus, because I know that certain people will take advantage of it if I leave it here," the ex-captain said, looking at Gambit.  "As for you, John, I know you haven't been doing a lot lately, but you will be rewarded none the less.  You will get the quartz barrette.  We thought it fitting, that since you already have the power of fire, you may want to experiment with the power of…  Can somebody please poke him back awake?"

Charles picked up where she had left off.  "The crowns will be thrown into the ocean.  We don't want to risk one of you being killed.  Lastly, the ring.  I am happy to say that we have all unanimously decided that Rogue will take the ring."

Rogue's eyes widened, and she looked around the table, where everyone was smiling at her.  "M… Me?  Y'all want me to take the ring, even though Ah already have the sword and everythin'?"

"Without hesitation," Katherine told her with a grin that made the small girl resemble a pixie.

"But you still have to work at controlling your powers," Xavier reminded her.  He steeped his hands.  "This isn't a quick fix to controlling your powers, child.  You will still need to do exercises, and experiment with taking only what you want when push comes to shove.  Understand?  Good."

With a trembling hand, Rogue reached out and took the ring.  Her hand was shaking so badly that she dropped it and swore.  Smiling gently, and looking more than a little worried himself in his powerful red eyes, Gambit picked up the ring for her and slipped it on her ring finger.

She didn't feel anything happening, and felt rather silly with everyone watching her.  Then she heard it, a demur voice in her head, as sweet as honey and twice as kind as the nicest person Rogue had met.  _Oh my, this is a problem, isn't it?  My, my, my, mutants certainly have become stronger since I was alive._

'Um…. Pardon me,' Rogue asked the voice in her mind, 'but who are you?'

_I'm Aphrodite, I am Venus, or Cupid, Eros, I am every aspect of love that you can think of naming.  Centuries ago I was a mutant, and I had the power to toy with the minds and hearts of people.  I sowed love where there was hatred, unless I was in a really bad mood, in which case I could break love and make people hate each other.  I locked a piece of myself into this ring, so that when mutants found our treasures, they could gain our powers as well._

Something about the woman's soul in the ring told Rogue that Magneto would have loved her.  They had left the treasures to make mutants stronger, because they believed that, like them, they would be revered as gods, and what were gods without Love, War, or Nature?  Rogue reflected on this thoughtfully, when suddenly Gambit's face and hungry lips popped into her thoughts.  Venus was poking around in her heart.

The voice laughed.  _Ah, so this is the one you want.  He's quite a looker, isn't he?  If I were still alive, you'd have a bit of competition, let me tell you!  Hm, and whenever you get together, you absorb his mutant abilities… so all you need is something to block your powers.  I don't think that I can do that._

Rogue's heart fell.  She couldn't?  She looked over at Gambit, and her crushed face told him everything.  It wouldn't work.  It was just another dead end.

_Hold on a second!  Gods, cut the melodramatics, will you?  I said I couldn't block your powers, not that you and he couldn't go and procreate or anything!_  The voice sighed.  _There's another way.  I can show you how to do it.  Rose quartz can hold a lot of power, which is why it's such a useful mineral, as well as being pretty.  Now, I'm not certain how much of your powers I can handle, and as you absorb more, the amount of time that I can hold these powers will decrease, as well as leaving you vulnerable, so I won't suggest that you keep your powers in the crystal for very long, otherwise you will be defenseless, save for the sword of my brother's I see you have.  Okay, here's what you do…_

Gambit watched her, trying to pinpoint the emotions running through her emerald eyes. First sorrow, then hope, concentration, and many others.  He clenched his fists.  Damn it, if this failed…  Some part of him laughed.  He knew he wasn't exactly the most patient man in the world when it came to sex.  He was going to go insane.  Remy LeBeau, the insane mutant leader of a mutant pirate ship where his first mate was a furry demon man and his other first mate was a beautiful woman who would be the death of him in one way or another.

He looked at her intently as she sighed and pulled the ring off her hand.  She chewed on her bottom lip nervously, and he felt himself be hypnotized.  'Damn, she has nice lips.'  He was even more mesmerized when she pulled her gloves off next, and then swung around in her chair to look at him. 

"Well," she sighed.  "Here goes nothing."

Rogue pounced on him, leaping into his lap and straddling him.  If this was the only attempt the ring could make and it wasn't going to work, then Rogue was at least going to make sure that it was going to be worth every second of unconsciousness that Gambit was going to suffer.  She pressed her body against his and wrapped her hands in his dark hair.  It was as soft as she thought it would be. She drew his head down and one hand slid down his cheek to feel the stubble of his cheeks as she kissed him roughly.  Rogue wanted to taste everything she could, and feel as much of him as she could; she couldn't control the simple need that she felt, making every inch of her body turn to gooseflesh and burn at the same time.

Caught off guard, Gambit closed his eyes and surrendered to the kiss.  If this was going to kill him, then he would die happy in so many more ways than one.  His mouth covered hers, and he was blown away by the feeling off her lips moving against hers.  Gambit waited for the pull of her powers, but he forgot all about it when she sucked gently at his bottom lip.  He captured her mouth again, leading her to open hers so that….

Peter looked at what was going on in the chair and felt himself go red.  Even Nightcrawler was looking a little purple, especially when Gambit's hand moved up from Rogue's waist to grope her breast.  Both men leaned over and covered Katherine's eyes.

"Damn it!  I wanted to see!"

Her complaint made the two mutants remember where they were, and they felt themselves go a bit pink.  Glancing at each other, Gambit picked up Rogue and stood up rather awkwardly.  "Excuse us."

His woman, however, refused to be carried off in such a manner, and wriggled out of her grasp.  She grabbed her ring and put it back on, feeling her old powers crash back into her.  It fit like an old glove, and felt good, though not as good as Gambit's….

"Damn it, guys, how come I wasn't allowed to watch?  They were just kissing!  I've kind of seen kissing before, so it's not like it's a big secret or anything!"

Rogue laughed, and looked up lovingly at Gambit.  "Ah'm not about ta be carried off ta the bedroom like a sack of potatoes, Remy.  Ah'm the one who managed ta tame a thief and a pirate."  She ignored the laughter of the others as she tossed Gambit over her shoulders and zoomed off to the bedroom.  Gambit didn't mind at all, as it gave him a wonderful view of her backside.

As soon as he was set down, he locked the door to his bedroom and grabbed her, barely giving her enough time to pull off the ring.  The look in his made Rogue feel that the torturous wait had somehow been worth it, and she never wanted that hunger to leave his face.  "What's all this about me being 'tamed'?"

****

_A couple centuries later…_

            Katya stared at the portrait in front of her, her golden eyes devouring it.  Monet did such nice work.  She pulled out the container on her back, and cursed when her necklace slipped out from under her black clothing.  It had been doing that a lot lately.  She looked the ring she wore on the silver chain, and shoved it back down under her clothing.

            Opening the container, she pulled the painting from the wall and carefully placed it on the ground.  Her eyesight was perfect in the dark museum, picking out the faint lines of the laser alarms and the corners of the Monet.  Flipping open her pocket knife, she removed the painting, and placed it in the container on her back.  The spare picture she had, she put into the picture frame and then hung up the painting back on the wall.  Katya cursed when she noticed the wires on the wall.

            'Shit!'  The painting had been wired to set off a silent alarm the moment when the painting had been removed from the wall.  None of the schematics of the museum had shown this system!  She was blinded when lights flipped on, and she immediately changed her eyes back to their normal green color.  Two guards stood at the doorway, and her senses could pick up the sounds of sirens far away.  More police would be on her soon, and she knew that two of those cops would be Bishop and Cable.  Those bastards always seemed to be nipping at her heels.

            The museum cops looked from her, to the painting, where the outline of a cat sat, and a message was scrawled in spray paint that actually looked carefully planned out.  'Sorry for any inconvenience.  Rogue, Queen of Thieves.'

            When they turned back to look at the girl they had cornered, she had vanished.  One guard nudged the other, and pointed up to the ceiling, where the girl was climbing a rope to get back up the skylight.  Without thinking first, the guards opened fire.  She twisted on the rope, still climbing and somehow dodging their shots, as if she were a circus performer who worked with ropes.

            She reached the top without any trouble at all, and cut the rope that had carried her up with the sword at her back.  It was an antique, but it was so sharp and clean it looked as if it had been made yesterday.  The rope fell to the museum floor, keeping the guards from climbing up after her.

            'Those idiots,' she complained as she checked to make certain her package was still safe.  'They could have hit the painting.  I'll fire them tomorrow morning.'

            Taking a running leap, she jumped to the roof of the next building, just as the police arrived.  She ran without stopping for breath all the way through the city.  Faced with the towering building of glass, she jumped and landed on the building.  Katya climbed up without any trouble at all, as if she were crawling on a floor.  Rope was easier to climb, but glass was a work out.  She pulled open the window of her penthouse, and crawled into her home.

            Sighing, she took off the box from her back and opened it, staring at the painting she had stolen from her own museum. Grinning proudly, she poured herself a bottle of wine and toasted the painting as she threw on Moonlight Sonata. Dancing to the music, she twirled into the bedroom without spilling a drop of the wine.  She moved like a wild animal, and that was exactly what she was.

            Looking at a young woman with green eyes and slightly wavy auburn hair, who barely cleared five and half feet and feet and was built like a willow tree, no one would imagine that Katya Wagner, was a mutant, let alone that she was capable of hostile takeovers that made her father and grandmother, Kurt and Raven, laugh and say that she was as much of a pirate as he had been in his youth, which had been more than two centuries ago.  Nobody would ever even dream to think that she was the assumed human criminal known as 'Rogue'.

            She set down the drink and stripped off her skin tight black outfit.  Katya placed her hand on a wall dotted with bookcases and a panel between two solid oak bookcases slid open.  She threw her outfit into the dirty laundry and carefully placed the sword on the altar reserved for it.  Then she proudly put the Monet on the section she had picked out for it.  Grinning, she slid the wall and changed into a gi, heading to the punching bag for a late night work out before she got a bit of sleep.  It would be an early morning, what with people phoning her up to tell her off the crime in her museum..

            'I can't believe that somebody actually put a trap in my own museum!'  She roundhoused the bag.  'Despicable!'

            Katya worked out her anger, and had to stop when her claws began to came out.  Her mutant power was not as noticeable as the rest of the people in her family.  She had her father's agility, and her grandmother's shape shifting ability.  However, Katya couldn't change her whole body, she couldn't only take on characteristics.  The eyesight of an owl, the climbing ability of a spider, the smell of a bloodhound….

            She sighed, humming to the classical music and sipping her drink, thinking.  She was the self declared Queen of Thieves, because so far no one had ever out done her.  She was called Rogue after her great-grandmother, and had been named for Kurt's friend, Katherine.  Her father lovingly called her his 'little masterpiece', and at times, she had to admit that she was.  Katya could trace her lineage, through some way or another, through just about every individual involved in the incident that had secured the treasures of the ancient mutant gods, two of which she carried.

            She pulled the ring out, and gazed at it, as she often did.  Her father didn't know she had it.  Raven had given the ring to her, and Katya had dug into the past of the ring, finding out that anybody who had ever worn it had heard voices and gone insane.  Just once, Katya had put it on, and the headache she had heard had lasted for a week.  But as she looked back on the incident, she began to feel that some of the voices had been familiar.  One had sounded like her grandmother, sultry and low, another like her father's gentle accent, and a gruff one that sounded like Uncle Logan.  Often, she had thought of putting that ring back on, just to see if she was correct.

            Turning down the music, she took off the necklace, and withdrew the metal chain from the circle of the ring.  The worst it would do was give her a headache, and that would only aid her, as she was going to have to look like she had a headache when someone from the museum would phone her up and tell her that they had had a Monet stolen.

            She put the ring on, and she felt the voices starting: Russian, German, loud, quiet, male, female, French, soft, educated, lax, there were dozens and dozens of voices.  She collapsed her knees, clutching her head, and then, suddenly, there was only one voice, dulcet and gentle on her aching mind.

            _You're her daughter._  The voice sighed.  _Time passes so quickly when you're a ring.  Oh, child, what do you want to know?  I know so much._

            'Who… who are you….?'

            _Once upon a time, I was the Goddess Aphrodite.  I locked my magic in the stone.  Then a woman named Rogue found me, and her essence joined with me.  She's related to you, you know.  She was mutant, like you, and could absorb the mutant abilities of others, as well as pieces of their personality and memories.  So now, I am many, when I was simply one.  You know wear the ring.  I am… I _was_ meant to bring together people who love each other, but you don't love anybody, do you?  You don't want anybody.  So I can give you something else.  You must decide quickly.  I don't have much time left.  The ability of the stone to retain the power it possesses is breaking.  I can pour everything I have into you.  It will be difficult for you. You will have mane people in your head, but it will make you better.  You will have all the powers that I… Rogue… gained, except for hers, so that you will not absorb the mutant powers of others.  Trust me, it will save you quite a bit of grief.  You will be able to be intangible, to fly, to fully change your shape, to teleport, strength, healing…_

'I would be an unstoppable thief.  Then I would really be the Queen of Thieves.'

            _Yes._

            Her ruthlessness came out.  She wanted to be the best.  She wanted to be the masterpiece that her father had called her when she was little.  If she possessed all these talents the ring offered her, then she could move beyond stealing art.  She could move on to banks, to anything she wanted.  Nothing would be able to hold her.

            "I want it."

            The Queen Rogue was thus born… and she was unstoppable.  No one was able to catch her.  Because she did such great things, that no one wanted to.


End file.
